Chad Riley Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Notre Dame '04

Chad Riley is poised to begin his third season as an assistant coach for the Fighting Irish in 2008. The '08 campaign will mark the fifth season of coaching for Riley. The 2004 Notre Dame graduate spent the 2005 season as an assistant at St. John's and served the same role at Oberlin College in 2004.

After helping Notre Dame to success on the field from 2000-03, Riley has helped guide the Fighting Irish to unprecedented success during his first two seasons as an assistant coach for his alma mater. In 2006, Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time in program history and the squad followed that up with a repeat appearance in 2007.

The 2007 campaign witnessed the Irish winning a share of their second regular-season BIG EAST title as they tied for the Blue Division championship with Connecticut. The Irish went 7-0-4 in league play and were the only BIG EAST squad to go undefeated within the conference. Notre Dame advanced to the finals of the BIG EAST tournament before falling to UConn. During the season, the Irish peaked at a program-best No. 2 in the national rankings.

Notre Dame opened the '07 season with a 2-1 overtime win over top-ranked UCLA at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind. That would be the first of five triumphs over ranked foes for the Irish on the year. Notre Dame garnered the 10th seed in the 2007 NCAA Championship and following a first-round bye, the Irish topped Oakland University, 2-1, at Alumni Field. A 2-0 upset victory at No. 7 Santa Clara would propel Notre Dame into the `Elite Eight'. The season would come to an end as the Irish suffered a 1-0 overtime loss at eventual national champion Wake Forest in the NCAA quarterfinals to finish with a 14-5-5 record and a No. 6 ranking in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. The Irish boasted two All-America honorees for the 2007 season. Lapira earned first-team All-America accolades for the second straight season, while fifth-year senior Ryan Miller was a second-team pick. Miller also earned the distinction of becoming the first player in program history to be named both an All-American and Academic All-American in the same year.

Lapira and Miller were also unanimous first-team all-BIG EAST selections. The duo spearheaded a group of seven Fighting Irish players that copped all-conference accolades. In addition to their all-league honors, Lapira and Miller heard their names called in the third round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft. In 2006, the Irish concluded the season ranked sixth nationally after compiling a 15-6-2 record and finishing third in the BIG EAST Conference's Blue Division with an 8-3-0 mark. After earning the No. 12 seed and a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame knocked off Illinois-Chicago, 1-0, in the second round before taking down defending NCAA champion Maryland 1-0 in double-overtime.

Accolades were abundant for the 2006 Irish squad following the unprecedented success. Lapira won the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy as the nation's top player according to the NSCAA. He became the first student-athlete in program history to win a national player of the year award. Lapira, who led all NCAA Division I men's players with 22 goals and 50 points, also captured player of the year honors from Soccer America along with being Notre Dame's first-ever unanimous first-team All-American.

Lapira was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, while his teammate Greg Dalby was selected as the Midfielder of the Year. In all, the Irish boasted five all-conference performers. Dalby earned first-team All-America honors for the second straight season and was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the second round of the MLS draft. Nate Norman also heard his name called as the Chicago Fire selected the midfielder in the second round

Riley, a native of Houston, Texas, was a four-time monogram winner and received all-BIG EAST honors on three occasions during his Notre Dame career. He started 75 games in a Fighting Irish uniform and was an integral part of the Notre Dame squad that captured the 2003 BIG EAST tournament championship. That team would also make the program's second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16. For his career, Riley totaled 52 points on 10 goals and 32 assists. He led the team in assists three seasons and was Notre Dame's top scorer as a freshman. Riley currently ranks second on the Irish career list for assists. He graduated with a degree in theology from the College of Arts and Letters and was twice named to the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team.

Following his graduation from Notre Dame in 2004, Riley served as an assistant coach at Oberlin College in Ohio during the 2004 season. He helped guide the Yeomen to a 9-8-3 record as five players earned all-North Coast Athletic Conference honors. The team also was a recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association Team Academic Award, posting a 3.52 grade-point average, the highest of any of the 73 men's teams honored.

At St. John's in 2005, Riley helped guide the Red Storm to an 11-6-5 record and a berth in the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to top-seeded and eventual national champion Maryland. St. John's boasted five all-BIG EAST selections in 2005, including M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalist Matt Groenwald.