8A - Thursday, September 5, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Soccer Preview: New year, new legacy By SHANNON LYNCH Daily Sports Writer The 2012 season will be remembered as one of develop- 79 ment for the Michigan men's soccer team for both its young players and head coach, Chaka Daley. The season was by no means a disappointment - the Wol- verines advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before fallingto Akron, 2-1. But the expectations for this season are much higher. Now back for his second year, Daley is gearing his young team up for a season meant to instill a sense of pride in soccer at Michi- gan similar to that of hockey, football and men's basketball. "There's Michigan athletic 7 culture, which is one of the best athletic cultures in the country bar none, but there's really not a big Michigan soccer culture," Daley said. "We want to continue to impress upon them that that's the legacy they leave." Daley is tasked once again with one of the toughest sched- ules in the country, including? three games against ranked top- 10 teams outside of the strong Big Ten. Two weeks ago, the Wolver- Junior midfielder Tyler Arnone was na ines were picked to finish fourth said. "How they complement the in the Big Ten preseason coach- returning guys is going to be the es' poll, behind first hurdle we Indiana, Mich- face as a group igan State and and as a staff." Northwestern. "...There's With that, With 10 the Daily freshmen on really not a big breaks down the roster, the e. this season. team will need Michigan soccer to adapt quick- CAPTAINS ly and find the culture." on-field chem- Senior istry it needs to goalkeeper earn victories. Adam Grinwis "Having a turnover of players returns for his third year as the always makes it a challenge, and Wolverines' starter and his first having 11 new faces on the roster year as a co-captain. The Ada, increases that challenge," Daley Mich., native led the Big Ten and one-assist performance ina two- game stretch against Loyola- Chicago and Bowling Green. Murphy, a second-year starter for the Wolverines, developed quite a resume last season, play- ing 21 of 22 games and finishing with four goals and two assists. Another player to keep an eye out for is transfer midfielder Marcos Ugarte. In his first sea- son at Michigan following two years at Providence, Ugarte will be paired with Arnone. "I'm fairly versatile, so I can definitely play other spots," Ugarte said. "I'm looking to establish myself as a starter and contributor to score goals and add assists, and above all, help us win games." ROOKIES The freshman class is diverse and promising, featuring four midfielders, three defensemen, two forwards and a goalkeeper. The class boasts four players who ranked in the 2013 IMG Academy 150 - the most in the Big Ten - while Top Drawer Soc- cer ranked it the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation. Six of the signees are ranked amongthe top 150 players in Col- lege Soccer News' Class of 2013, led by midfielder Matt Miazga, who comes in at No. 17. Defender Rylee Woods, who earned his first start in the home opener4 last week, holds down the No. 26 spot, while midfielder Brett Nason is ranked at No. 47 to round out the top 50. START OF THE SEASON After week one, Michigan is 1-0-1 and leads all Big Ten teams with six goals and 19 points, a major improvement from an inauspicious 2012 start. The next home game is scheduled for Fri- day, Sept. 4, at the U-M Soccer Stadium against South Florida. med first team All-Big Ten last season after a stellar 2012 campaign. This summer, he was named a co-captain. ranked eighth nationally with 92 saves last year and was placed on the 2013 Big Ten Preseason Watch List. Grinwis has a new pair of players to get used to on defense followingthe graduation of defenseman Brian Klemczak and the selection of Kofi Opare by Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, but he seems confident in the young talent. "Lucky for me, these guys aren't too hard-headed," Grin- wis said. "As a defensive unit, we can coach and mentor these new faces as we complete our transi- tion into a new era of Michigan soccer." The other co-captain, redshirt junior midfielder Tyler Arnone, will also take on an important leadership role as he works to outdo his stellar 2012 season. He ranked second on the team in 2012 with 16 points - five goals and six assists - and tied for the team lead in shots with 46. He has racked up a number of awards in his time at Michigan, including being named to the first team All-Big Ten last sea- son. PLAYERS TO WATCH Arnone and Grinwis aren't the only players who made the Big Ten Preseason Watch List. Senior midfielder Fabio Pereira was also recognized, and right- ly so. Pereira led Michigan in scoring in its last two seasons and begins this season with 18 career assists, just 10 behind the program record of 28. A year ago, he ranked second in the Big Ten with eight assists, fourth in points with 20 and fifth in goals with six. And in his season debut Monday, he gave the Wolverines their only goal in a 1-1 tie with Bowling Green. Sophomore forward James Murphy proved himself in the first week of regulation games, earning Big Ten Offensive Play- er of the Week for his two-goal, Howard scheduled ph so Calculated net for autograpsesson present values. Then netted By EVERETT COOK Daily Sports Editor Michigan football fans were expecting to see Heisman Tro- phy winner Desmond Howard on ESPN's College GameDay in Ann Arbor on Saturday before the Notre Dame game, but fans might not have anticipated being able to meet the legend. Thanks to a new ad campaign, they will. Teamed up with Nissan, How- ard will appear at a variety of events for the company's "Heis- man House" campaign, which creates ad spots centered around the idea of every Heisman win- ner living in the same house. Because of his national TV pres- ence, Howard is prominently featured in many of the commer- cials. On Saturday, the Wolverine legend will be at Michigan's Fan- Fest on the southwest corner of Main Street and Stadium Boule- vard across from the Big House participating in a "Chalk Talk" session with ESPN anchor Neil Everett from 5-5:15 p.m., fol- lowed by an autograph session with fans from 5:15-6:15. Former Michigan and NFL player Dhani Jones will also be in attendance, doing a Chalk Talk from 3:00-3:30 followed by a 3:30-4:30 autograph session. "When we go to these tour stops, the lines are always out the door to get autographs," said Josh Clifton, the public rela- tions manager for Nissan, in a phone interview with the Daily. "Usually there's a great response and the home team gets fired up during the Chalk Talk session. Desmond is more of a prominent player in the public eye because of GameDay and his on-air stuff, but as these other schools bring some of these players back, it might be one of the first times they are back in the public eye in a long time." This is the third year of the advertising campaign, but the first time that Nissan is rolling out a physical "house" for fans to FILE PHOTO/Daily Former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will be signing autographs for fans before Saturday's game as part ofan ad campaign from Nissan. interact in. The structure is built to resemble the house that the commercials were shot in, and the interior is filled with pictures of former Heisman winners, as well as the actual Heisman tro- phy. There will be challenges, priz- es and giveaways in the house, but the main draw will be How- ard, one of the program's most famous alumni. The GameDay schedule fluctuates week to week, so it wasn't certain that Howard would participate in the Heisman House activities until the GameDay stop was announced last weekend. But with a bit of foresight and planning from Nissan and its partner, ESPN, it worked out for Michigan fans who want to get an autograph and meet Howard. "GameDay changes on the fly, so we try to align ourselves with what we think are going to be big stops and where College Game- Day will be," Clifton said. "We knew this would be a big one." Nissan will be bringing the house to 10 stops this year, including the Rose Bowl and National Championship both in Pasadena, Calif. The campaign spots mock the idea of all the Heisman legends living together, but ended up being a good way to get the play- ers to actually spend time togeth- er. They had seen each other at Heisman ceremonies every year, but in a club that's adding new players every year, many of the younger players hadn't ever met the older players in the group. "This Heisman House has brought an elite fraternity of players together," Clifton said. "They had never really met and didn't really have a gateway to interact and share stories. That's been kind of cool to see - Nissan facilitate bringing together some of these elite football players."