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With the scoreboard reading 3-0 in the Huskies' favor and the St. John's players looking downtrodden and demoralized Friday, Red Stormhead coach Dave Masur pulled 2005 Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Jason Landers in favor of Neal Kitson.
As soon as the substitution was announced, the crowd - leaning right up against a fence that stands about four feet away from the net on the western portion of the field - sent Landers off with a goodbye chant and welcomed the new goalie with increasingly loud chants of "Neal."
Even with the game well in hand for the Huskies, the crowd's spunk was unwavering.
Only minutes later, the ball was kicked out of bounds and Kitson grabbed a water bottle from the side of the left post before setting up the goal kick. As he did, the face-painted fans standing right behind him began screaming all types of taunts as loud as they could.
Kitson squirted some water into his mouth and right before he tossed it to the ground, jerked the bottle back, sending a stream of water at the ground in the direction of the students.
Mission accomplished.
"And this is probably one of the weakest second halves we've had all year," said UConn alum and well-known super fan, Dale Nosel, best known for painting his body blue-and-white
While UConn may be forever known as a basketball school, the men's soccer team has a long history of outstanding fan support. Since 1998, the Huskies have been ranked in the top four in average home attendance and have not fallen past No. 6 in overall home attendance. Even last year, a fairly disappointing season compared to the standard of excellence head coach Ray Reid has established, UConn finished first in average home attendance with 2,930.
Noticing this consistent support, midway through the 2005 season, the athletic department and representatives from the coaching staff decided to do something special for the fans.
"We've always had great fans here in Connecticut," said Kris Bertsch, director of soccer operations. "We kept noticing the same group of seniors who kept coming and coming and we just wanted to help them out any way we could."
In order to organize some of their most devout fans and thank them for their continual support, a student fan group was created: the Goal Patrol.
During each game, dozens of the most hardcore members of the Goal Patrol come with either their face or chest - and sometimes both - painted in UConn blue and white, and stand behind the fences located on both goal lines to cheer on the Huskies and taunt the opponent's goalie.
While the group began with just a small contingency of fans, it has seen its number of members grow to around 500 students in less than two years, according to Bertsch. The group was even featured in Soccer America, touting them as the best fans in the nation.
A view Reid shares.
"They are the best college soccer fans in the country," Reid said. "They're huge, they're huge. These guys are great and they make a big difference."
And the players also know the advantage of having such a dedicated following. With any mention of the Goal Patrol, the player's eyes get big and they can't wait to talk about their importance.
"The Goal Patrol is key to our success at home," said junior Akeem Priestley. "They give us that extra edge. They're like the 12th man."
The most extraordinary thing about being in the Goal Patrol during a game that really sets them apart from most fan sections - aside from the almost nauseous feeling one gets from the pungent aroma of paint fumes - is the sense of an established community. Cramped close together with about hundred or so fellow students, you really begin to feel like part of the group.
The strong group dynamic is just one of the reasons that keeps fans piling into the student sections at Morrone Stadium almost every week, attracting some who aren't even students.
"The group is so big that I brought someone up from Southern [Connecticut State University]," Nosel said. "I think he's the U."
Just as impressive is the creativity the crowd displays with their chants and cheering materials. Along with the face paint, during Friday's match-up against St. John's, there were Connecticut flags waving, decorated trash cans for drumming and even signs with Masur's face on them.
The chants also have the same flare. Most are quite humorous and often rowdy, but there are a few that shows the dedication and effort the Goal Patrol puts into their cheers. Not only did some crowd members know which schools Landers turned down out of high school, they even knew the names of his parents and girlfriend.
"There's more creativity at these games [than at basketball games]," Nosel said. "You can't start a cheer that hasn't been around for at least a year. God forbid you try to do a "Let's Go UConn" chant."
As the ball banged up against the net when Ryan Cordeiro nailed in the first goal of the game in the 32nd minute, the crowd exploded to the fence, vacating their positions and crossing the five-foot walkway so quickly you would think a gun just went off.
As about 30 or so crowd members shouted and hollered at the top of their lungs while piling up against the fence, Cordeiro and several other players celebrated the score like they do after almost every goal and home victory: with the Goal Patrol.
"I'm really happy with [the fan support]," Reid said. "It makes the difference between winning and losing."
Contact Justin Verrier at
Justin.Verrier@UConn.edu.
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