As Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer expressed his satisfaction with how his players performed at Saturday’s FanFest, he made sure to address the turnout that came to watch his team play.

“More than anything else, just excited that we had a packed house here at the (SU) Soccer Stadium,” Shafer said as fans poured onto the field for an autograph session. “It’s just great to see the community out and can’t wait to get to that Villanova game and get you fans out there and start having a blast this fall.”

The Orange started the day with a morning practice, which was lighter than usual. FanFest kicked off at 3 p.m. and the team took the field at SU Soccer Stadium at 4:30 and scrimmaged for about an hour.

More than 1,500 fans attended the free event, which featured food and refreshments, prizes, a merchandise trailer, inflatable bouncers and more. Shortly after the scrimmage, the field was opened up for the autograph session including all coaches and players.

Shafer personally backed up his gratitude for the community by reportedly being the last person signing autographs while the field emptied out.