Daly earns trip to Orlando

Jared Daly of Hubbard did not have a very good junior season as the starting goalkeeper for Painesville’s Lake Erie College soccer team last year.

The Ursuline High graduate suffered a serious eye injury in the ninth game of the season at Ashland University, and had to undergo reconstructive eye surgery. He missed the last 11 games of the schedule.

In addition, he struggled to a 0-5 record while guarding the goal. His team also found winning difficult with a 4-15 record.

But things finally are beginning to look up for Daly nearing the end of his junior year, as his character and high academic standing have trumped his adversity on the soccer field.

Daly has become the first student-athlete at Lake Erie to be selected to attend an NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference. He will attend the 2009 conference slated May 24-27 in Orlando, Fla., at the Walt Disney World Coronado Spring Resort.

He was chosen for the assignment by the Lake Erie Athletic Department. He is one of 699 student-athletes, including 186 from the Division II level and one of only 37 men’s soccer players selected.

The conference will focus on self exploration, foundation building, skill application and interactive training conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Army.

“We felt that [Daly] has the personality to perform well at the meetings, and the maturity to learn from what is given to him,” said Lake Erie soccer coach Jim Buchan, a native of Scotland, who completed his first season at the helm of both the men’s and women’s soccer programs.

Buchan said Daly’s academic achievements also make him an ideal representative for the college.

“[Daly] is a good student to represent athletics. He was the best student-athlete to represent LEC,” said Buchan, noting that Daly has better than a 3.5 grade-point average. “He will bring back valuable information that can help the college and student-athletes.”

Buchan has become familiar with the NCAA conference over the years as a coach, and in fact attended one of the events as a coach at Mesa State College, and consequently was able to serve as a catalyst to get Lake Erie and Daly involved in the selection process.

Buchan coached the Mesa State College women’s soccer team for 12 years before coming to Lake Erie.

Buchan said that the 5-foot-9 Daly, who had a 2.57 goal-against average with 28 saves, played “very well” and “improved greatly” last year despite his losing record, but that his season was cut short by the eye injury. “We expect some great things for him in the upcoming season.”

Buchan said that when Daly went down, the team didn’t have a back-up goalie and had to call on Clay Bolton, 5-9 sophomore defender from Poland High, to guard the net.

“After we lost Jared, we didn’t have a backup keeper. Clay came in and played fantasic. He never played as a goalie [before]. He was a defender until that game. I have the highest esteem for Clay for what he did,” said Buchan of Bolton’s contribution.

Bolton started 10 games as goalie and posted a 3-7 record — most wins on team — with a 2.13 GAA and a team-best 50 saves.

Also helping the Storm was Justin Mihaley, a 5-9 sophomore midfielder from Ursuline High and Lowellville who played in 19 games, starting all of them and led the team on offense with nine points on three goals and three assists. He also was No. 1 in shots (41) and shots on goal (20).

“[Mihaley] has blossomed [this spring practice]. I am extremely pleased. I think he can be a leading light. He has so much potential. He will be a very important part of the program,” said Buchan, assisted last season by Matt Tringhese of Hubbard, a former Lake Erie standout.

“[Tringhese] was graduate assistant last year in his second year. He did a tremendous job and has got a job working in a brand new soccer facility in Geneva called The Great. I think he will be an assistant manager,” Buchan said.

XJohn Kovach writes about college athletes for The Vindicator. Write him at kovach@vindy.com.