GREAT FALLS, Mont. – University of Providence athletic director Doug Hashley announced on Thursday that the athletic department will lift the interim tag from Danny Burstein, officially naming him the head coach of the Argo men's soccer program.

"We are excited to move forward with Danny as our head coach," Hashley said. "Over the most unique season any of us have ever faced, he demonstrated that he is the correct person to head the men's soccer program moving forward. We're excited to see the direction he takes our team in the future."

Before being named the interim head coach prior to this season, Burstein was an assistant coach at Adams State University, a NCAA Division II school in Alamosa, Colo. He served as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's program, working primarily with the goalkeepers.

Prior to that, Burstein served as an assistant coach for the Argos under previous head coach Matt Ball. He helped lead the program to an 8-5-3 regular season record a birth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament. In addition to his position at Providence, he served as the head coach for two teams at Montana Rush, and led his U19 boys team to a 2018 State Cup.

"I'm very, very excited about this," Burstein said. "I enjoy Providence and the community here and being part of this environment. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to continue on in this role. I appreciate the support I've gotten from the athletic administration and from the University as a whole."

After he was named the interim head coach following Ball's departure, Burstein led the team to one of the strangest seasons in Argo history. The team, which usually plays in the fall, didn't arrive on campus until January to compete in a shortened spring season, featuring a total of eight games against four opponents. He led the Argos to a 3-3-2 record.

"There were a lot of unique challenges that usually a coach doesn't have to deal with," Burstein said. "I think it really helped me prepare for anything that could possibly be thrown my way. We really had to prepare differently for opponents, be flexible with start times, things like that. It served as an opportunity to learn and grow and find more about myself and gave me time to reflect on how I want to move forward in the future."

With the spring season in the rearview mirror, Burstein will transition his focus into the fall. With a little over three months between seasons, he will prioritize recruiting and building a culture for the group of guys that will be here.

"We're excited to have a shorter offseason as the players will return in just a few months," he said. "There won't be as much of a reintroduction of what we got going on here. We're going to be able to pick up where we left off. Players are getting ready over the summer to get ready for the fall, we're doing things here in the office to make sure that we're prepared for day one in the preseason so that we're ready to achieve our goals."