Scully Names Daly as Head Coach of Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse

Michael L. Daly will become head coach of the Hillies varsity girls’ lacrosse team.

A 13-year, two-time Division Two national championship college coach was named Wednesday to lead Haverhill High School girls varsity lacrosse in the upcoming spring sports season.

Haverhill Public Schools Superintendent James F. Scully appointed former Merrimack College Assistant Director of Athletics Michael L. Daly as head coach of the Hillies varsity girls’ lacrosse team. Haverhill High Director of Athletics and Wellness Thomas E. O’Brien recommended Daly to head the program for the 2016 season, according to a statement released Wednesday.

“Daly takes over a Haverhill team that has had its most successful run in the history of the program. The Hillies are coming off their third straight Merrimack Valley Conference

title and last year won the first playoff game in school history,” O’Brien said.

Daly is currently working as the Girls Program Director & Social Media/Marketing Coordinator with HGR Lacrosse in North Andover, according to O’Brien. According to a profile on LinkedIn, Daly left Merrimack and began work at HGR last month.

“My goal is to awaken possibility in other people, brands and teams,” Daly wrote on LinkedIn. “An instinctive coach and curator, I am here to serve others, create connections and great client experiences to make an impact via sports/fitness in the marketplace, people’s lives and in the community. I embrace big challenges to help people, teams and brands make big breakthroughs in higher ed, for start-ups, non-profits and in professional and amateur sports. I believe in lifting others up and working hard to make a difference. I am most passionate about sports, fitness, education, non-profits, crowdfunding and fitness travel.”

“HGR offers top notch leagues, elite teams, private training, recruiting guidance and camps for lacrosse players of all ages and skill levels in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire,” according to their website.

A biography on the Merrimack College website indicates O’Brien began serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Operations there in the 2015-16 school year after two years as head coach.

“He was also an assistant coach at Saint Anselm College prior to joining Merrimack in 2013,” the college said in a statement. “Daly oversaw the women’s lacrosse program at Merrimack for two seasons and is a former National Coach of the Year in the sport. He guided Stonehill College to a pair of national championships in the mid-2000s and also served as Assistant Athletic Director alongside his coaching duties.”

Daly served from 2014 to 2015 as a head coach for Merrimack College, at the University of New Hampshire from 2010 to 2012 and for Stonehill College from 1999 to 2007, where he also served as assistant director of athletics. He currently ranks fifth all-time in NCAA Division II history with 168 wins. At Stonehill, Daly led the program to two NCAA Division II National Championships in 2003 and 2005 and also finished NCAA finalist in 2002 and semi-finalist in 2001 and 2007. Between 2000 and 2007, Stonehill won eight straight Northeast-10 Conference titles with an 83-2 conference record. He was a three-time National Coach-of-the-Year and was inducted into the Stonehill College Hall of Fame in 2015.