At Fat Frogg Bar and Grill just off-campus Monday night, the Elon University men’s soccer team, fans and other university-related figures watched as spot after spot was revealed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, without their school’s name being c

alled.

They knew it was coming at some point, but the wait was excruciating.

“It was a bit more suspense built up this year than last year,” said Elon senior midfielder Gabe Latigue. “Last year, we saw right away who we were playing

Once Elon was announced as facing Coastal Carolina University in the first round, one of the final matchups revealed in a webcast on NCAA.com, the wait was over, showing a repeat of last season’s first round draw.

In fact, there are some similarities between the 2011 season for the Phoenix and this year. Both seasons concluded with the players clutching the Southern Conference Championship trophy, headed to Conway, S.C., to face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Several of the more important players remain - senior forward and SoCon Player of the Year Chris Thomas, junior midfielders Matt Wescoe and Daniel Lovitz, sophomore goalkeeper Nathan Dean and Latigue. So does the coach, 2012 SoCon Coach of the Year Darren Powell.

But the way Elon got to that point, enjoying pizza at Fat Frogg learning who its opponent was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, was a completely different road. The Phoenix finished the 2012 campaign with a 15-4-2 record, a far cry from the 9-10-2 mark it entered the NCAA Tournament with last year.

And with that improved record, Latigue said, comes more support.

“It goes without saying, when you win the more support you’re going to have,” he said. “So the whole university, the president, the different athletic teams on campus have been great. We’ve seen the community come out and support us. We’re very happy for that and we hope they’ll continue to support us as we go to Coastal Carolina.”

Taking in the announcement at Fat Frogg were several Elon luminaries, including softball head coach Kathy Bocock, men’s basketball head coach Matt Matheny, athletic director Dave Blank and the university’s Executive Vice President, Gerald Francis.

“It’s nice to see that there are people towards the top of the school that are behind the program. And he’s not the only one,” Dean said. “Quite a few of the administrators have been there as well, watching us. I know Dave Blank said (Monday) night that all of them are going to be down there with us in Coastal. It’s nice to have the support from the fans, but it’s also nice to have the support from the top of the administration as well and that they’re behind the team.”

One particular administrative figure that has taken notice, at least on Twitter, of the men’s team is president Leo Lambert. On Nov. 6, he tweeted, “Men’s soccer coach Darren Powell named SoCon coach of the year! AND senior Chris Thomas named PLAYER OF THE YEAR! Proud of you gentlemen.” Four days later, when the Phoenix clinched the conference championship, he tweeted, “Congratulations @ElonMensSoccer on another SoCon championship. Well done, guys!”

Latigue said those tweets were “exciting.”

“To have the president of the university recognizing you, especially over Twitter where so many people see it, it’s fantastic,” he said. “We’re going to try to continue to make this university proud.”

The support from fans began Aug. 25 against High Point University in Rhodes Stadium. The Phoenix dropped the match 4-2, but a record crowd of 3,862 supporters cheered for the maroon and gold.

Powell credits the momentum the team gained from winning the SoCon Tournament last year as a huge part of that.

“The support has been fantastic,” he said. “I think it’s our highest average attendance at games, the highest crowd ever at the opening game. It’s generating excitement and I think that was the hope that we could get a home game so we could continue the excitement.”

The Phoenix did not get a home game, so they will have to go down to Conway, S.C., to face off against the Chanticleers. The university has arranged for students who sign up to go down to the game, offering free transportation, a t-shirt, ticket and food for the game.

One group one might expect to make that trip is the baseball team. Several members of the squad were on hand for the selection show, and when asked to speak, Powell made sure to point them out.

“They’ve been to several games, supporting the team through all the matches,” he said. “They make noise and they’re excited. They’ve just been a great support for the team.”

Dean said the support from the Elon community has just increased throughout the year and hopes to bring the fans another opportunity to cheer his team on.

“I think throughout the year, as we’ve seen, it’s grown and grown,” he said. “It’s not something we always expected because we don’t always get the biggest crowds. But as we’ve done better and better this year, the crowds just get unbelievable. As we started the tournament, to get that many people to come out near Raleigh and be so loud compared to quite a loud Wofford fan set as well, it was nice to see. It will be difficult for people to get down to the NCAA game, we know that, but if we can get a win there and come back to Wake Forest (University for the second round), hopefully, we’ll get a decent crowd out there because they’ve been pretty unbelievable for us. “