unh women's lacrosse Coaching Staff
Michael Daly
Head Coach Michael Daly (‘90) became the eighth head coach in the 34-year history of the UNH women’s lacrosse program on August 3, 2009. He returns for a second coaching stint at his alma mater. Daly initially joined the program as an assistant coach in July 2007 and remained as the primary assistant until September 2008. As an assistant at UNH, Daly aided in numerous phases of the program, including recruiting, practice and game preparation, budget and team travel, fundraising and community service. The 2008 Wildcats received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, finished 13-6 overall and ranked No. 6 in the nation defensively. Prior to the 2007-08 year at UNH, Daly was head coach at Stonehill College (Easton, Mass.), where he compiled a 140-27 record in nine seasons and was named IWLCA Division II National Coach of the Year three times (1999, 2003, 2005). He led the Skyhawks to the Division II national championship in 2003 and 2005 – and a runner-up finish in ’02 – as part of a seven-year span in which the team advanced
to the semifinals five times. Daly guided Stonehill to nine consecutive conference regular-season titles (1999-2007), which included eight undefeated league marks, and eight straight conference tourney championships (2000-07). As a result of his program’s excellence, Daly was honored as Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year a total of six times, including the 2002 through 2006 seasons. In addition to overseeing every aspect of the women’s lacrosse program, Daly held the title of Assistant Director of Athletics at Stonehill College and as such he directed, scheduled and staffed all athletic facilities for practices, competitions, special events, fundraising activities and NCAA tournament events; and administered the equipment, facilities and capital budget. Furthermore, Daly served as an academic advisor and was also involved with the NCAA Lifeskills program and SAAC. Between his coaching stints at UNH, Daly worked at C.E. Communication Services, Inc. (Franklin, Mass.), where he served as the marketing director and webmaster, and also oversaw government sales. Daly earned a B.A. in Communication and Business Administration at UNH in 1990, then received a master’s degree (‘94) and MBA (‘96) from Northeastern University.
Jess Burnap
Assistant Coach Jess Burnap enters her fourth season as an assistant coach at her alma mater. Burnap, who earned a B.S. in Psychology in 2005, was a four-year standout for the New Hampshire women’s lacrosse program. As one of the program’s most prolific scorers, Burnap broke the UNH single-season goals record with 72 in the 2004 season and recorded 81 points that year. She compiled career totals of 168 goals and 45 assists for 213 points to leave the program ranked No. 2 in both goals and points as well as No. 9 in assists. Burnap, who started all 74 games in her four-year career, became the third Wildcat to reach the 150goal milestone with the 150th of her career April 13, 2005 vs. Harvard. She also became just the third player in program history to attain the 200-point milestone with a point vs. Albany on April 24, 2005. And her eight-goal effort vs. Boston College in 2004 tied the school record at the time. A native of New Canaan, Conn., Burnap earned IWLCA All-America Second Team and America East Player of the Year honors in her record-breaking junior season. She was a three-time selection to the America East All-Conference First Team (2003, 2004, 2005) and earned both Second Team and Rookie of the Year honors in 2002. As a senior tri-captain, Burnap was named to the preseason Tewaaraton Watch List (nation’s top player award) and to the IWLCA National Honor Roll for her academic achievement. Burnap grabbed headlines for her offensive prowess but was a multi-dimensional player for the ‘Cats. She led the team in draw controls as a junior and senior and was the team leader in ground balls as a sophomore. She led the Wildcats to league regular-season and tournament titles – and an NCAA tournament appearance – in 2004, as well as runner-up league tourney finishes in the other three seasons. Prior to coming back to UNH as part of the coaching staff in the summer of 2006, Burnap was head coach of the girls lacrosse team at Deering High School (Portland, Maine) for the 2006 season.
Wildcat Lacrosse Rising Up America East tourney appearances 1998 '99 2000 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09