By Caroline Koutsos

When you picture Maryland Men’s Soccer, you might be reminded of their four NCAA championship titles, or alumni in the pros such as Ben Bender and Joshua Bolma. But behind the team’s accolades is a fan base that is more committed than most. 

The UMD Crew, a student-led organization dedicated to supporting the Maryland men’s soccer team, has been intertwined with the team since 2003. What started as 10 people is now 3,000 members, according to Head Coach Sasho Cirovski.

“For the first 10 years when I was coaching here, we would make the playoffs and have no home field advantage because the stands were so far away and we had a hard time getting students to the games,” said Cirovski. 

“So after the 2001 season I started to think, we gotta do something better here.” 

Cirovski negotiated with the track and field coaches and raised money to move the pole vault pit. Additionally, he worked with the athletic director to make the games more interactive and entertaining for both players and students.

After losing in the semi finals to UCLA in 2002, Cirovski met with the fans. “Our students told us: if you put the stands behind the goal, we’ll pack the place.” 

Then came the 2003 season, and the home opener was against UCLA. It was the perfect storm. 

“An hour before the game, the place was sold out. There were people on the trees, on the hill, everywhere. It was unbelievable,” Cirovski said.

A loyal fan, who called him and his friends “the crew,” decided to get a bunch of his friends and go behind the goal. Cirovski said he started to chant, “Hey I’m Mike and this is my crew. For the next 90 minutes, we’re going to be all over you.”

Thus, The Crew was born. 

“It became kind of a great love affair because our players appreciate them,” said Cirovski. “I meet with the leadership group every preseason…we do a lot of giveaways, we get scarves for the crew every single year. That doesn’t come out of the budget. I raise the money for it.”

The Crew works closely with the team’s marketing department and the coaching staff. “That’s [Sash’s] little baby,” said senior supply chain management major and midfielder Alex Nitzl. “He’s so proud of that, and always makes sure that the crew is involved in everything and always supported.”

The Crew provides more than just a home field advantage. Whether it be an 11 hour road trip to Alabama or a bus drive to North Carolina to watch the team in the Final Four, The Crew is there with a drum in hand and chants at the ready. 

What sets The Crew apart from other college soccer fans is their unwavering commitment. Moments before the home game against Georgetown was canceled due to inclement weather, the fans were lined up waiting from the field’s gate entrance to the performing arts center. 

“I had like 10 messages from Crew members… [saying] ‘Make sure you keep us updated about everything…because we want to support you.’ And then the game got canceled, and they were like, let’s do something together. We want to be with you guys either way. So we all went out together with The Crew,” said Nitzl. 

Colin Carroll, recent UMD graduate and former vice president of The Crew, grew up going to games. When a childhood friend became a walk-on and joined the team, Carroll was even more invested in Maryland soccer and began to form relationships with the team. Carroll said that the camaraderie came from knowing the players in a personal sense. 

One word to describe the relationship according to Carroll was “love”. 

“Those guys are putting so much effort for 90 minutes, they deserve a good following behind them and they do it for us. And we do it for them at the same time,” Carroll said. 

The legacy of The Crew continues as Carroll’s sister Fiona Carroll, a junior early childhood education major, is now the current vice president of The Crew. 

Though Maryland men’s soccer fell short of expectations this season, they collaborated on a final recap post of the season with The Crew on Instagram.

It featured photos of The Crew behind the goal cheering for the players, captioned: “Much love to our fans. Amazing support all year. We’ll be back stronger in 2024.”

Featured Image: The UMD Men’s soccer team and The Crew after a pickup game last season. Photo courtesy of Colin Carroll.