Raymond Michael "Ray" Reid (born May 8, 1960) is a retired American college soccer coach. He was head coach at the University of Connecticut Huskies men's soccer team for 24 years. He has led UConn to one NCAA Division I national championship, eight Big East regular season championships and four Big East tournament championships. Before coming to UConn, he was the head coach at Southern Connecticut State University, leading the team to three NCAA Division II national championships in eight seasons. Reid leads all coaches in the nation in winning percentage (.769) and has won four NSCAA Coach of the Year awards.[1]

Ray Reid
Biographical details
Born (1960-05-08) May 8, 1960 (age 64)
Brentwood, New York
Alma materSouthern Connecticut State University
Playing career
1979Suffolk Community College
1980–1982Southern Connecticut
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983–1988Southern Connecticut (asst.)
1989–1996Southern Connecticut
1997–2021UConn
Head coaching record
Overall394–97–61 (.769)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1x NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship (2000)
3x NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship (1990, 1992, 1995)
8x Big East Regular Season Champions (1998–2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012)
4x Big East Tournament Champions (1999, 2004, 2005, 2007)
Awards
4x NSCAA Coach of the Year (1990, 1992, 1994, 2000)

Early years

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Reid was born and raised in Brentwood, New York. He graduated from Southern Connecticut in 1982 with a degree in economics.[2]

Playing career

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Reid was a soccer standout at Brentwood High School, where he received academic honors in addition to those on the field. He spent his first year of NCAA eligibility at Suffolk Community College, receiving all-region honors. He transferred to Southern Connecticut for his remaining three years of eligibility. He was a captain on the team for his junior and senior years and played in three NCAA Division II national championship semifinals while with the Owls.[1]

Early coaching years

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After graduating from Southern Connecticut in 1982, Reid was offered an assistant coaching position by then-head coach Bob Dikranian. He spent the next six seasons as an assistant coach at the school, helping the team win its first national championship in 1987.[1]

Head coach at Southern Connecticut

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During Reid's eight-year tenure at Southern Connecticut, the Owls only missed the NCAA tournament once (1991) and advanced to the Division II College Cup six times (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996), winning national championships in three of those years (1990, 1993, 1995).[3][4]

Head coach at UConn

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UConn initially pursued Reid for the coaching job after long-time head coach Joe Morrone suffered several sub-par seasons, failing to reach the NCAA tournament for seven straight years. After several years of turning down offers from other Division I programs, Reid decided to take the job, which some of those close to him described as "his dream job".[2] He has coached at UConn since 1997, and has obtained a 248–80–46 (.725) mark during his 17 seasons in Storrs. In just his third season, Reid took the Huskies to the College Cup semifinals, falling just short of the national championship game. But Reid brought back a determined team in 2000, winning his first and only Division I national championship in a 2–0 victory against Creighton. His teams have made sixteen straight NCAA tournament appearances, including three straight national quarterfinal appearances since 2011.[1]

Personal life

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Reid married Valarie Casares in 2008. Reid has two daughters, Cate and Dannielle, from his previous marriage to Sondra Reid.[1]

Reid has worked closely with current UConn associate head coach John Deeley for more than 30 years, who played against Reid in high school and later with him at Southern Connecticut. The pair appeared in two NCAA Division II national championship semifinals while with the Owls. Upon Reid's promotion to head coach at Southern Connecticut in 1989, he hired Deeley as an assistant, where they worked together for eight years.[5] Reid brought Deeley with him when he came to UConn in 1997.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Southern Connecticut (Division II) (1989–1996)
1989 Southern Connecticut 14–7–1 NCAA Regionals
1990 Southern Connecticut 22–0–1 NCAA Champions
1991 Southern Connecticut 14–4–3
1992 Southern Connecticut 21–2–1 NCAA Champions
1993 Southern Connecticut 17–2–3 NCAA Runner-up
1994 Southern Connecticut 17–0–4 NCAA Semifinals
1995 Southern Connecticut 21–1–1 NCAA Champions
1996 Southern Connecticut 20–1–1 NCAA Semifinals
Southern Connecticut – Division II: 146–17–15 (.862)
UConn (Big East Conference) (1997–2013)
1997 Connecticut 11–7–2 5–6–0 7th
1998 Connecticut 17–4–0 9–2–0 1st NCAA First Round
1999 Connecticut 19–5–0 9–2–0 T-1st NCAA Semifinals
2000 Connecticut 20–3–2 8–1–2 1st NCAA Champions
2001 Connecticut 15–5–2 9–1–0 1st NCAA Second Round
2002 Connecticut 16–6–1 7–3–0 3rd NCAA Quarterfinals
2003 Connecticut 9–8–4 5–3–2 6th NCAA Second Round
2004 Connecticut 12–8–3 5–4–1 T–5th NCAA Second Round
2005 Connecticut 16–3–2 7–3–1 T-1st NCAA Third Round
2006 Connecticut 10–7–2 8–2–1 2nd NCAA First Round
2007 Connecticut 20–3–1 8–2–1 T-1st NCAA Quarterfinals
2008 Connecticut 11–5–6 6–3–2 3rd NCAA Third Round
2009 Connecticut 11–4–4 8–2–1 T-1st NCAA First Round
2010 Connecticut 12–2–6 5–1–3 T-4th NCAA Second Round
2011 Connecticut 19–3–3 5–2–2 5th NCAA Quarterfinals
2012 Connecticut 17–4–1 6–2–0 T-1st NCAA Quarterfinals
Connecticut – Big East: 235–77–39 (.725) 110–39–16 (.715)
UConn (American Athletic Conference) (2013–present)
2013 Connecticut 12–3–8 4–0–4 2nd NCAA Quarterfinals
2014 Connecticut 10–6–3 6–1–1 1st
2015 Connecticut 10–6–6 3–3–2 3rd NCAA Second Round
2016 Connecticut 11–7–1 3–3–1 3rd
2017 Connecticut 8–8–2 4–3–0 3rd
2018 Connecticut 12–6–2 3–2–2 4th NCAA Second Round
Connecticut – American Athletic Conference: 63–36–22 (.612) 23–12–10 (.622)
Total: 445–130–75 (.742)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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