Greg Dalby 2014-15 Men's Soccer Staff

Greg Dalby, a 2007 Notre Dame graduate and a two-time All-America midfielder, is entering his third season as an assistant coach of the Fighting Irish in 2014. The Irish have experienced an unprecedented amount of success over the last two campaigns, posting a 34-5-7 record, winning the 2013 national championship and two conference titles.

In Dalby[apos]s first two seasons on the staff, Notre Dame has produced four All-Americans, including three first-team selections, 11 all-conference performers along with having six players selected into the MLS. The Fighting Irish also have excelled in the classroom, boasting three Academic All-America honorees and four NSCAA Scholar All-America selections.

In 2013, the Fighting Irish posted a remarkable 17-1-6 record while playing one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. The Irish opened the season with a 13-game unbeaten streak, which catapulted them to No. 1 in the national polls for the first time in program history. After suffering their lone loss of the season to Virginia, 2-0, the Fighting Irish finished the campaign with a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) and outscored their opponents 25-8 during that stretch en route to the title. In their five-game run through the NCAA tournament, the Fighting Irish owned a 14-4 scoring advantage over their competition.

Notre Dame also captured a share of the ACC regular-season title during its first year in the challenging league. Notre Dame and Maryland both finished conference play with 7-1-3 records, which included a 1-1 tie between the two schools during the regular season. The Irish and Terrapins later squared off in the national title game at PPL Park and Notre Dame came away with the 2-1 victory.

Dalby, along with associate head coach BJ Craig and volunteer assistant Vern Gingerich, helped head coach Bobby Clark earn national coach-of-the-year honors from the NSCAA and Soccer America along with being tapped as the ACC Coach of the Year.

Several Notre Dame players received accolades for their performances in 2013. Senior forward Harrison Shipp was a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy and copped first team All-America honors, while fifth-year senior Grant Van De Casteele was a third team All-American. The Fighting Irish boasted six all-ACC selections, headlined by Shipp, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

Following the season, Shipp signed with the Chicago Fire as a [quote]Homegrown Player[quote] and the Colorado Rapids selected Van De Casteele in the first round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. That gave Notre Dame three first-round picks in the last two seasons as Ryan Finley (Columbus Crew) and Dillon Powers (Colorado Rapids) both went in the opening round of the 2013 SuperDraft and Powers would go on to win the MLS Rookie of the Year Award.

In his first season on the Fighting Irish sidelines in 2012, Notre Dame compiled one of the top campaigns in program history. The Irish won their first seven matches en route to a 17-4-1 record, which signified the most wins for the team since 1988. Notre Dame won the BIG EAST Championship and garnered the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history.

Finley and Powers both earned first team All-America honors and were among five Irish players that garnered all-BIG EAST accolades for the [apos]12 season. In addition, Finley was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy.

Prior to returning to his alma mater, Dalby spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He helped guide the Wildcats to a combined 15-15-9 record in 2010 and 2011 and the program produced four all-Southern Conference honorees and 12 academic all-Southern Conference selections. Davidson earned the distinction of being a Capital One Academic All-America team in 2011 with a 3.13 team grade-point average.

Davidson defender Greg Macnamara was named to the 2011 NSCAA All-South Region third team in addition to the Academic All-America third team. Macnamara also was a Lowe[apos]s Senior CLASS Award candidate. The Seattle Sounders selected Davidson midfielder Alex Caskey in the third round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

Dalby also has experience coaching at the club level. He was the head coach of the Charlotte United FC Elite-Level U14 boys squad and was the Colorado Rapids Youth Academy coach from July 2008 to March 2010.

Dalby spent five years playing professionally both in the United States and Belgium. Following his stellar Notre Dame career, the Colorado Rapids selected Dalby in the second round (17th overall pick) of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. However, he began his professional playing career with Royal Club Sporting Charleroi in Charleroi, Belgium. He played with the team, which is a member of Belgium[apos]s premier league, from September 2007 to May 2008.

After his time in Belgium, Dalby returned to the U.S. to play with the Rapids. He played two seasons in Colorado, competing in official MLS play along with Open Cup matches and international friendlies.

Dalby joined the Charlotte Eagles of the United Soccer Leagues Second Division (USL-2) in March 2010. He was a two-time team captain of the Eagles and earned USL-2 second team all-league honors in 2010.

Dalby, a native of Poway, Calif., also has international playing experience as he captained the U.S. Under-20 National Team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championships (now called Under-20 World Cup). The U.S. squad won Group D with a 2-0-1 mark before falling to Italy, 3-1, in the Round of 16.

During his playing days at Notre Dame, Dalby was a two-time team captain and a four-time monogram recipient. He started all 88 matches in which he played and tallied 10 points on four goals and two assists as a central midfielder. The 88 consecutive games played ranks second all-time at Notre Dame.

He earned first team All-America honors from the NSCAA during his junior and senior seasons. Dalby was named the 2006 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and collected all-BIG EAST honors three times, including two first-team citations, in addition to being a two-time M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalist.

Dalby and the Fighting Irish captured the 2003 BIG EAST Championship title and the 2004 BIG EAST regular-season crown. Notre Dame qualified for the NCAA Championship all four of his seasons and the Irish advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in program history during his senior campaign.

In 2006, Dalby received the Byron V. Kanaley Award, which is the most prestigious honor awarded to a Notre Dame student-athlete. It has been presented annually since 1927 to senior monogram athletes who have been exemplary as both students and leaders. Dalby represented the Irish men[apos]s soccer team on Notre Dame[apos]s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) from 2004-06.

Dalby, a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, graduated from Notre Dame[apos]s College of Arts and Letters with degrees in film, television and theater and theology. He finished with a 3.241 cumulative GPA.

As a senior in high school, Dalby received the 2002 Gatorade and Parade Magazine High School National Player of the Year award.

Dalby is married to the former Stacey Backstrom.

The Greg Dalby File

Coaching Expeience

Year
2010-2011	Assistant Coach, Davidson College
2012-present	Assistant Coach, University of Notre Dame

Playing Expeience

Year
2003-2006	University of Notre Dame
2007-2008	Royal Club Sporting Charleroi (Belgium)
2008-2009	Colorado Rapids (MLS)
2010-2011	Charlotte Eagles (USL-2)

NSCAA All-Americans who Dalby coached at Notre Dame (4):

Ryan Finley – 2012 (First Team)

Dillon Powers – 2012 (First Team)

Harrison Shipp – 2013 (First Team)

Grant Van De Casteele – 2013 (Third Team)

MLS Draft Picks who Dalby coached at Notre Dame (6):

2013 SuperDraft

Ryan Finley (Forward)

Columbus Crew – First Round (9)

Dillon Powers (Midfielder)

Colorado Rapids – First Round (11)

2013 Supplemental Draft

Adam Mena (Midfielder)

Vancouver Whitecaps – First Round (10)

Michael Rose (Midfielder)

Vancouver Whitecaps – First Round (11)

2014 SuperDraft

Grant Van De Casteele (Defender)

Colorado Rapids – First Round (19)

Harrison Shipp (Forward)

Signed with Chicago Fire as a [quote]Homegrown Player[quote]