The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Chaka Daley Hired To Coach Men's Soccer Chaka Daley will fill the vacancy created by the departure of Steve Burns, be- coming just the second head coach in the 12-year history of the men's soccer pro- gram. Daley, who spent 12 seasons as the coach at Providence, was hired Dec. 23. "I was at Providence for 20 years — went to school there, was an assistant for four years and a head coach for 12 — so I was invested and they did fantastic things for me, but the culture of athletics at Michigan, as soon as I stepped on campus, was so far and above what I was accustomed to," Daley said. "It was a really intriguing opportunity and once I got into the nuts and bolts of the vision with [ath- letics director] Dave Brandon, and [associate directors] Bitsy Ritt and Lisa Savoury, I knew it was a place I wanted to be." Daley was 90-111-27 overall with the Fri- ars, but had built the program into a consis- tent winner, going 72-47-21 during the past seven seasons (.589 winning percentage) — posting a winning record each year — with five NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2011, he led Providence to an 11-8-1 Daley was the coach at Providence for 12 years, and he led the Friars to the NCAA Tournament in five of the last seven seasons. PHOTO COURTESY U-M SPORTS INFORMATION record and an at-large berth into the tourna- ment, and it will be his goal for continued success with the Maize and Blue. "When I looked at Michigan's track record, there was one great year, one down year, and it has sort of gone like that," Daley said. "The first thing I want to do is inject my culture into Michigan men's soccer, and that's a culture of consistency. "We want to finish among the top two or three in the Big Ten every year, and if we do that, we'll be on the national stage. You want to have a winning record out of conference and in conference, go into the Big Ten Tournament with at least 10 wins, get to the finals, build up your RPI résumé for the NCAA committee and earn as high of a seed in the NCAA Tournament as you can because then you increase your odds of being successful." The Toronto, Ont., native was the NCAA Division I New England Coach of the Year in 2005 and was a National Coach of the Year nominee that same season after leading the Friars to an 7-4-9 mark that included an NCAA Tournament first-round victory. A former Providence soccer player himself, Daley started at defense and for- ward, scoring nine goals in 69 career contests. "Defensively, our program needs to get better," he said. "Michigan scored 50 goals [53] in 2010, but that's not normal for even the best teams in the country. You win with defense, and conceding 70 goals [69 in 45 games] the past two seasons is awful. We have to do better. "The best teams are giving up less than a goal per game, so defending has to become our staple as a program. "We're going to have great energy, be a blue-collar team, a hard-working team, and with those qualities as our foundation, and an ability to attract some of the best attacking options in the country, we can win consistently." Burns had served as the program's only head coach, leading U-M to a 122-98-22 overall record from 2000-11, NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2010. He guided the Wolverines to their first Big Ten title in 2010 and led the Maize and Blue to the NCAA Final Four after posting three tournament wins. Burns resigned Nov. 30 before accomplishing the ultimate goal, one Daley intends to reach. "I didn't pick up after 20 years, move my family, to come here and be compla- cent," he said. "I want to push the envelope. How long does it take until we get there? I don't know, but a national championship is the goal. I'm not here just to hold a position; I want to win trophies for Michigan." MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK TRAINING GROUND • Freshman midfielder CHRISTINA MURILLO has taken the winter se- mester off so she can train with the Mexi- can Women's National Team in hopes of making the 2012 Lon- don Summer Olym- pics roster. Murillo, who started 19 games for the Wolverines, registering five assists en route to Big Ten All-Fresh- man Team honors, will rejoin Michi- gan for the 2012-13 academic year and the 2012 season. • Former Michigan pitcher Jordan Taylor has been named to the 2012 USA Softball Women's National Team and will compete at the Inter- national Softball Federation Wom- en's World Championship in June. A three-time All-American, Taylor posted a 107-18 mark with a 1.27 ERA in 162 career appearances in Ann Arbor. She holds U-M career records for starts (124), wins, win- ning percentage (.863), strikeouts (1,220), saves (17) and no-hitters (eight). THEWOLVERINE.COM POLL RESULTS Each month, TheWolverine.com runs a new poll for its readers to vote on. If you would like to vote, go to www.the- wolverine.com. The poll is located on our premium message board, The Fort. How many regular-season victo- ries will Michigan have in 2012? 12 — 9 percent 11 — 10 percent 10 — 29 percent 9 — 39 percent 8 — 13 percent 7 or fewer — 0 percent 969 votes Staff of The Wolverine's consensus: 10. FEBRUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 13