Syracuse, NY. (NCC News) — Over 2,500 fans attended Syracuse’s 2-0 win over Le Moyne men’s soccer last Saturday. It was just the second meeting in program history for the two teams.
A rivalry reborn
Just over two years ago Syracuse men’s soccer sat in defeat after Le Moyne shocked the college soccer world with a 1-0 win against its inner-city rival, in its first-ever season as a Division I program.
Despite the loss, Syracuse found a positive takeaway. Thousands of fans piled in from across the city to watch the two local teams square off. The birth of a new rivalry.
“It’s always fun to have games like these, where you’re up against another school in your city. Both schools aren’t long-time rivals, but when you get into the game you wouldn’t be able to tell,” said Syracuse sophomore and soccer fan Connor Hendry.
Fast forward to this past Saturday and the much anticipated revenge game for SU had arrived, but the emphasis wasn’t just on the game for the orange, it was the community.
Tailgates and a new fan experience
Hundreds of fans packed the parking lot hours before kickoff to tailgate and take in the pregame festivities.
Syracuse men’s soccer has placed an emphasis on engaging the fans and looked to create new ways to get fans into the stadium this season. The derby allowed the team and university to introduce two brand new food trucks selling walking tacos and gyros, pregame access to the facilities for kids to shootaround, and yard games for all to enjoy.
The biggest addition to the night and adding to the fan experience was fans’ access to the east sideline.
For the first time in program history, Syracuse allowed its fans to bring lawn chairs, blankets and stand on its East sideline in order to grab a different view of the game. A large part of this decision had to do with the crowd expectations heading into the matchup. Fans quickly filed into the new area, which helped create an atmosphere unlike any other for Coach Ian McIntyre and his squad.
“Every time you play in a derby there’s a little bit more juice to the game, there’s that kind of intensity, that kind of electricity and that was it tonight. It was a wonderful atmosphere,” said McIntyre.
Otto’s Army and the student sections show out
It wasn’t just the local community that was rocking Saturday. Syracuse students showed out in numbers and were chanting all night, including their new tradition, the ‘Cuse clap. The team recently bought six brand new flags for fans, handed out player head cutouts and raffled off a jersey to students.
Syracuse University Athletic Director Bryan Blair beat the drum and sang with Otto’s Army all night, while the Le Moyne students and fans went back and forth with the Syracuse faithful. Syracuse sophomore and soccer fan Connor Hendry was a fan of all of the action.
A win for both programs
The game provides a great opportunity to play in front of an incredible atmosphere for both teams. Syracuse struggles to pull in attendance for non-conference games, while Le Moyne rarely pulls in large crowds at its home games.
The orange have pulled in an average of 1,100 fans to each of their last three home games. That number is almost 1,400 fans smaler than the Salt City Derby and 1,500 short of their lone ACC home game against Clemson with over 2,600 fans.