Here’s the pitch: UConn names soccer field in honor of former coach Ray Reid
When Ray Reid took over as UConn men’s soccer coach in 1997 he assumed a large responsibility following in the footsteps of Joe Morrone, the coach for whom the campus stadium has long been named.
Reid held up his end, leading the Huskies to the national championship in 2000, and won 457 games making the NCAA Tournament 18 times before retiring last year.
On Saturday night, as the Huskies took on DePaul, the soccer pitch within the newly renovated Morrone Stadium was named “Ray Reid Field at Joe Morrone Stadium.” The Board of Trustees approved the naming on Sept. 28.
“It’s kind of overwhelming,” Reid said Saturday. “I’m excited about it. It’s due to a lot of hard work by a lot of players and a lot of assistant coaches I had with me. I was very blessed. We had a lot of talent, a talented staff.”
Reid, whose contributions to UConn include several philanthropic gifts, had a large group of family and friends on hand, including his parents, in Storrs for the ceremony.
“UConn has built a legacy of hall of fame coaches, and Ray Reid’s quarter century at the helm of our men’s soccer program was a cornerstone of our championship tradition,” AD David Benedict said. “The national stature of our soccer program due in large part to Ray’s leadership and commitment to UConn, and I can think of no more fitting recognition of his impact than having the field upon which his teams earned unprecedented success bear his name.”
Chris Gbandi, who played on Reid’s NCAA championship team, is now the Huskies’ coach. They were 5-6-2, 2-3-2 in the Big East going into the game.
Before moving to UConn, Reid won two national championships as coach at Southern Connecticut, where he played his collegiate soccer. Reid, 62, is now the technical director of the USL’s Hartford Athletic.
“With what Coach Morrone did for college soccer and UConn soccer, and now to have my name up there with his, I take that as flattering,” Reid said. “To share the name with one of the all-time greats, I’m very thankful to the Board of Trustees, President [Radenka] Maric, [executive secretary to the Board] Rachel Rubin, [major program donor] Tony Rizza, [chairman] Dan Toscano and David Benedict.”
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com
