Dailey opts for Grove City
KARNS CITY — Karns City girls soccer forward Emma Dailey is used to playing for a winner and for a veteran coach.
Life won’t change much for her in that sense at Grove City College — except her coach won’t be her mother.
Dailey, daughter of longtime Gremlins girls soccer coach Tracy Dailey, is continuing her academic and soccer career at Grove City. She also considered La Roche, Clarion, Penn State Behrend and Slippery Rock.
“Karns City soccer feels like my first family,” Dailey said. “When I made my visit to Grove City, met the players on the team, it felt like my second family. I felt like I belonged there.”
Dailey was part of a few District 9 championship seasons while being coached by her mother in high school. She scored 69 goals and tallied 62 assists in her final three years at Karns City, including 24 goals and 22 helpers in her senior season, which resulted in another district title. She scored 27 goals her junior year.
“My mother told me it’s time that I be coached by someone other than her,” Dailey said. “But she developed me into the player I am. I wouldn’t have this opportunity at Grove City if not for her.”
The Wolverines are coached by Melissa Lamie, who’s been there 29 years. She’s racked up 333 career victories and seven Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships. Lamie has taken Grove City to five NCAA Division III tournaments.
The Wolverines were 11-7-1 overall last season, 7-2-1 in PAC play.
“Coach Lamie has been there a long time,” Coach Dailey said. “My husband went to school there and she was coaching the women’s team then. Our big question was whether she would stay on as coach throughout Emma’s career.
“She told me she has 10-year-old twin boys and isn’t going anywhere. I have a lot of respect for her and I like the fact she’ll be coaching Emma throughout.”
Dailey played center midfield for the Hotspurs club soccer team. Butler senior Tori Stevenson also plays for the Hotspurs and is headed to Grove City as well.
“I am so excited about that,” Dailey said. “Tori and I have been playing club soccer together since we were 8. Knowing I’ll be her teammate for another four years means a lot.”
Mars graduate Courtney Lisman is GCC’s goalkeeper. Cranberry Township resident Natalie Merrick is a sophomore forward who scored five goals for the Wolverines last season.
Dailey plans to major in elementary education with an emphasis on special education. She doesn’t rule out coaching down the road.
“I’d love to follow in my mom’s footsteps, but that’s a ways down the road,” she said. “I need to get my career established first and get better as a player.
“Those girls on the team have been there longer than me, obviously. They are bigger, stronger, faster than me. I hope to use their skills to elevate my own.”
Coach Dailey is happy her daughter opted for Grove City.
“It’s a strong academic school and Emma shares their core values,“ the coach said. ”The soccer program and competition level are great. It’s a good fit for her overall.“
While Dailey doesn’t care how she’s used on the field — “I’ll play any position they need me to play,” she said — she cares greatly about establishing relationships with her teammates.
“That’s what it’s about for me,” she said. “The friendships I form there will likely be friendships I’ll have for my entire life.”
