UCSB soccer fans will be adding a heavy dose of ruido (noise) to go with the tortillas at Harder Stadium this season, as the Big West Conference has permitted the use of noisemakers at regular season men’s and women’s matches.
Fans will be able to blow vuvuzelas and bang drums, but they won’t be permitted to use whistles and canned air horns.
The move was made to enhance the game-day experience at Big West stadiums and to help create an atmosphere more similar to international and professional soccer venues.
Harder Stadium is like the Camp Nou of college soocer. The crowds are big, loud and passionate.
College Soccer News ranked the stadium No. 2 as the most exciting places to watch college soccer, topped only by Creighton’s Michael G. Morrision Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The pluses for Creighton’s stadium is a fantastic view of the Omaha skyline and a park-like family area with five levels of terraced grass.
Harder Stadium is loud and raucous, and all about soccer.
“It doesn’t get much better than Harder Stadium,” CSN said. “The student and community support of the program has raised the bar for college soccer attendance coast to coast. It is not a stretch to say that Harder Stadium is “soccer heaven.” Consider this, UCSB has led the nation in average attendance for the past four seasons, and set new NCAA records for home attendance in 2010. The enthusiasm is contagious and it is always a great day to be a Gaucho at Harder Stadium.”
To celebrate the noise at Harder Stadium, UCSB is planning two noisemaker giveaways at the men’s soccer games against Seattle (Aug. 27) and UC Irvine (Oct. 1).
The UCSB men open the 2011 campaign on Aug. 20 against Westmont in an exhibition match at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.
WHERE ARE THEY: Michael Tetteh, a Generation adidas signee after his junior year in 2010, is starting for the Seattle Sounders Reserves, playing defender and midfielder. The team is 5-0 in the MLS Reserve League. A couple of weeks ago Tetteh played against former Santa Barbara High player Rodrigo Lopez, who was starting at midfield for the Portland Timbers Reserves.
Ciaran O’Brien, who signed a Generation adidas contract after his sophomore season at UCSB in 2007 and was the fifth overall draft pick of the Colorado Rapids in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, is playing for the Atlanta Silverbacks of the North American Soccer League.
Tyler Rosenlund and Alfonso Motagalvan, teammates on the Gauchos’ 2006 national championship team, are teammates with the Rochester Rhinos of the USL Pro League.
Nooooooo!!!!