UConn names soccer field after legendary coach Ray Reid
Ray Reid was already one of the biggest names in Connecticut soccer history, but now he’s got a field named after him.
The pitch at UConn’s Joseph J. Morrone Stadium will be known as Ray Reid Field, the school announced on Wednesday.
Reid, 62, coached the Huskies for 25 seasons and led them to eight Final Four appearances and the 2000 national championship. He won National Coach of the Year honors four times and finished with 457 wins, the second-highest total among Division I coaches at a four-year school.
“The national stature of our soccer program is 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,” athletic director David Benedict said in a news release.
“It is an honor to have the pitch at Morrone Stadium named after me,” Reid said. “I am so appreciative of everyone who helped make this happen, especially the many tremendous coaches who supported me and our fantastic student-athletes. This is one of the highest honors of my life and I am truly humbled and thankful.”
Reid, who retired from college coaching in 2021, currently serves as Technical Director of the Hartford Athletic. He briefly took over coaching duties for the club this season, before hiring former MLS player and coach Tab Ramos.
“Coach Reid has done so much for UConn soccer over the past two decades, it is only fitting that the university is honoring him by naming the field after him,” current UConn men’s soccer head coach Chris Gbandi said. “His name and legacy can now live on forever.”
Reid also coached three eventual No. 1 overall picks in the MLS draft, and saw 14 of his former players chosen in the first round.
Prior to his time at UConn, Reid led his alma mater Southern Connecticut State to three national titles in eight years. He was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003.
