Ian Stone felt like a kid on Christmas morning with a huge present he couldn’t unwrap.
Every day in practice, he saw Rachel Daly flash her world-class talent, yet on game days, she wasn’t allowed to suit up as the St. John’s women’s soccer team suffered through a losing season.
“It was frustrating for me, but I think it was even more frustrating for her,” Stone told The Rumble’s Zach Braziller. “I know she felt she could [help] her teammates out, but she wasn’t [allowed] to.”
Daly — an English import who has played for her country’s national team at three different levels, including the 2008 Under 17 World Cup in New Zealand, has led the Red Storm to a 7-4-3 record, already one more win than they had all of last year.
The sophomore’s eligibility problem arose because she went two years after last attending school in England, focusing on soccer instead. That cost her a year of eligibility, per NCAA rules.
Daly came to St. John’s at the suggestion of friend and national team cohort George Kearney-Perry, and the opportunity to experience New York City. Stone, an English product himself, knew her ability and was thrilled to have her.
“I wanted to make a difference,” the 21-year-old Brit said.
Daly sure has, with a team-leading 15 goals, second in the nation to Cal Poly’s Elise Krieghoff, and one less than St. John’s produced all of last year. Stone began tinkering with Daly up front because, the longtime coach said, it was where she was needed the most. Mind you, Daly hadn’t played forward in five years.
“To come in and score the goals I have, it was kind of a shock to me,” she said. “I approached it with the mentality, I just have to score all the time.
“I was a little surprised. I didn’t know what to expect. But there was no doubt in my mind I was going to be able to do that job.”
In addition to the team’s on-field improvements, Daly has also helped recruiting, Stone said. He’s received commitments from a few top players after visits to St. John’s, and he said the reason is because of the solid season the team is having and the opportunity to play with Daly.
Though she has played just 14 games, Stone said Daly is right there with Cristin Burris as the most talented finisher he’s coached in 20 seasons at St. John’s. Burris set the school record of 17 goals in 1994, a mark Daly almost certainly will break in the coming weeks. Unlike Burris, who set the benchmark as a senior, Daly still has two years of eligibility left.
“There’s a saying in the game of soccer: Natural goal scorers are born, not created,” Stone said. “I haven’t seen a player who can finish in so many different ways.”
Countdown begins in Time Square
Times Square will be the epicenter of the Olympic universe Oct. 29 when Liberty Mutual Insurance presents the 100 day Countdown event. Members of Team USA will kick off the Road to Sochi Tour leading up to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Russia in early February.
The event and tour will bring the spirit and excitement of the Games to Team USA fans with high-flying athlete demonstrations, meet-and-greet autograph sessions, fan sport experiences, interactive elements, Team USA giveaways and sponsor engagement.
The event also will include 12 interactive sport elements for fans, and more than 40 athletes are expected to participate in autograph sessions, demos and on-stage interviews.
Novel by Zen pal stars Nets scout
Charley Rosen, Phil Jackson’s former biographer who lives in near Woodstock in Ulster County, has a new basketball novel out called “Scout’s Honor’’ in which the main character, Rob Lassner, is a scout for the Nets. The fictional Nets scout has an interesting depiction of the fictional Nets owner, Fred Weiss Jr.
Rosen writes: “His father bought the Nets 15 years ago and made a gift of the franchise last June to his ne’er do-well son and heir upon the fifth anniversary of Junior’s climbing on the wagon. ‘Weiss The Younger’’ is the classic example of a rich man’s offspring who was born on third base but thinks he has hit a triple. And just the fact of his assuming control of the Nets has convinced Weiss he knows everything there is to know about the game.’’
Rosen also takes aim at the Buss family of Lakers’ fame — no surprise since his buddy Phil is at odds with his fiancée Jeanie Buss’ brother, Jimmy. Lassner calls father Jerry Buss “a wrinkled old lecher’’ sitting paw-in-hand with his latest young and dazzlingly lovely high-priced escort’’ and refers to Jimmy as “the idiot son.’’ (Jackson wrote in the forward it is Rosen’s best book ever).
The old-school Nets scout, who happens to live in Woodstock, also has a precious spiel, ripping apart the new front-office types who swear by the new basketball sabermetrics. The scout knocks down the importance of the most basic statistics — including rebounding, scoring average, assists and blocked shots with one of the precious lines of the novel: “If you really want to know how good or how bad a player is, just watch him play.’’
Rosen, who wrote Jackson’s first biography “Maverick’’ and was his assistant coach with the Albany Patroons, still is close with the Zen Master. He told The Rumble Jackson will never coach again.