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Thursday, July 2, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Louro back as starting goalie
By RILEY NELSON
Daily Sports Writer
Even at 7 a.m. on a Wednesday
morning in June, you can find
sophomore goalie Evan Louro
training, pushing himself to get
better.
Such is life for one of the
nation’s best goalkeepers.
The South River, New Jer-
sey native was a member of a US
National Team from 2009-2013
and is a product of the Red Bulls
Academy, the development team
for the Major League Soccer’s
New York Red Bulls.
TopDrawerSoccer.com
ranks
Louro as the second-best goal-
keeper and 22nd overall player in
the nation. He attended Saint John
Vianney, and, as a top recruit, had
a tough decision to make com-
ing out of high
school.
In
addition
to being heav-
ily
recruited
by colleges, he
was pursued by
teams overseas.
“I
had
a
couple of offers in England and a
few in Germany,” Louro said. “I
thought ultimately the best thing
for me was to go to Michigan,
because as soon as I went on my
visit I loved it. I loved the campus,
facilities. The coaches made me
feel really welcome and the play-
ers as well … they all welcomed
me with open
arms.”
A huge part
of
that
deci-
sion was former
Michigan goalie
Adam Grinwis,
who was enter-
ing his senior
season as Louro was starting.
“With Adam, he was there for
four years, so he understands the
game really well,” Louro said. “I
think just spending time with
him in the last year really helped
me because … I don’t think I was
ready for the college game and
the understanding of all the tac-
tics and how differently you have
to play, so I think he really helped
me develop my understanding of
college soccer.”
Last season, Louro played in 10
matches, starting in eight all non-
conference games, and recorded a
team-high 28 saves. At the end of
the season he had a .718 save per-
centage — compared to Grinwis’
.684 — and a 1.28 goals against
average.
Grinwis graduated and recent-
ly inked a contract with the New
England
Revolution
affiliate
Rochester Rhinos, which means
it’s Louro’s turn to take the start-
ing position in net.
“I didn’t really know what to
expect coming in to college soc-
cer,” Louro said. “I’ve heard from
people that it’s a lot different than
playing in the academy or playing
for the national team and stuff
like that. But (those experiences)
helped me a lot and I’m ready.”
What’s next for this top-
ranked keeper? Helping bring a
championship home to Ann Arbor,
and he’s willing to stick around to
see those results.
“I hope to bring a trophy to the
University of Michigan, whether
it’s the Big Ten or the National
Championship – hopefully both,”
Louro said. “Try to win as much
as possible – Michigan’s already
relevant, but put it on that next
level of an elite program. It could
be four years, that would be great,
however long it takes.”
You can see Louro and the rest
of the men’s soccer squad take the
field at their home opener on Sep-
tember 4 against West Virginia.
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Sophomore goaltender Evan Louro will take over the starting netminder job after entering as a prized recruit last summer.
By CHLOE AUBUCHON
Daily Sports Editor
Harbaugh being Harbaugh
Michigan football coach Jim
Harbaugh has turned heads for
more than just his Twitter account
over the past few days. On Tuesday
night, he threw out the ceremonial
first pitch at Comerica Park in his
signature khakis and a Tigers jer-
sey. In typical Harbaugh fashion,
the pitch was less ceremonial and
more competitive, as he asked if
anyone clocked the pitch’s speed
after he left the field.
The following morning, Har-
baugh stumbled through less than
six minutes of an interview with
ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd
before the interview was cut off,
with Cowherd calling it “a clunk-
er.” After several bland answers
from the coach, Cowherd insisted
that though he was trying to help
Harbaugh sell the Michigan pro-
gram, the interview was “just not
working.”
Harbaugh later responded on
Twitter: “In my experience of par-
ticipating in interviews, I’ve found
it takes 2 to produce a clunker!
I’ll take 50% responsibility 4 this
clunker.”
Wolverines on the Move
Various former Wolverines in
the NHL and the NBA have been
traded in the past few days. Swed-
ish forward Carl Hagelin, who
played at Michigan from 2007-
2011, was traded Saturday from
the cap-constrained New York
Rangers to the Anaheim Ducks as a
pending restricted free agent.
On Friday, the Buffalo Sabres
traded Michigan rising junior for-
ward JT Compher’s rights to the
Colorado Avalanche at the 2015
NHL Entry Draft. Originally draft-
ed by the Sabres in the 2013 NHL
Entry Draft, Compher will return
to Michigan for his junior season
as the Wolverines’ new captain, a
title vacated when Andrew Copp
decided to forgo his senior year of
eligibility and sign a professional
contract with the Winnipeg Jets.
In the NBA, former Wolverine
Tim Hardaway Junior was traded
from the New York Nicks to the
Atlanta Hawks on Draft night last
Thursday. Hardaway, who played
for Michigan from 2010-2013, was
drafted at No. 24 by the Knicks in
2013, but failed to perform up to
the standards of Knicks president
Phil Jackson, who made critical
remarks about the guard Friday.
WOLVERINE BITES
BY THE NUMBERS
Evan Louro and Michigan soccer
22
National overall ranking for Louro before
arriving at Michigan in 2014
8
Starts last season as a freshman
1.28
Louro’s goals-against average last year
18
Returning Wolverines, out of 25
“I don’t think I
was ready.”