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Pat Laughlin begins his second season as head coach of the Maine men's soccer program. The Black Bears took positive steps forward in all areas of the program during his first season at the helm. This season, Laughlin brings in 16 newcomers who should help the Black Bears take another step forward. Laughlin led the Black Bears to a 1-0 overtime win over UMass, a team that played in the 2007 NCAA College Cup, in his first game behind the bench. Maine improved to 2-0 at home early in the season with a 3-2 win over Long Island University. Laughlin and the Black Bears opened America East play with a 1-1 draw against New Hampshire. Maine remained undefeated at home with a 2-1 win over Hartford on Oct. 17. In that game, Laughlin earned his 100th career victory. Maine remained in contention for an America East playoff berth until nearly the last week of the season. After the season, freshman Adam Baxter was named to the 2007 America East All-Rookie Team, becoming the first player since the 2004 season to garner that honor. In the 2007 final RPI rankings, Maine jumped 69 spots from the previous season, one of the most significant increases in the nation. Maine played two teams ranked in the top five in Boston College and Brown and 10 teams in the top 55. Laughlin was named head coach of the men's soccer program on Jan. 23, 2007. A graduate of the University of Maine, Laughlin was a four-year letterman for the Black Bears. He came to Maine from the University of Rhode Island where he served as an assistant coach during the 2006 season. "We are excited to bring Pat Laughlin on board as our men's soccer coach," said Maine Athletic Director Blake James upon his hiring. "We are especially pleased to bring a former Black Bear student-athlete back as a coach." At Rhode Island, the Rams won the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 12-5-6 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2006. He served as the recruiting coordinator and prepared and assisted with all training sessions. Prior to URI, Laughlin was head coach at Dean College for six years. Laughlin helped take the program to new heights, which included its first-ever trip to the NJCAA National Finals in 2002. During his tenure, the Bulldogs captured the New England Region Championships in 2002 and 2003 and were finalists in 2005. During his six seasons at Dean his teams, which included four NJCAA All-Americans and four Academic All-Americans, combined to post a record of 69-36-6. Laughlin was named New England Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the National Coach of the Year in 2002. Before Laughlin's arrival at Dean, he built a program at Champlain College, improving each season he was there to post a 28-21-3 record. The Beavers were Northeast Region Champions in 1997 and finalists in 1998 and 1999. As a Division I assistant at Cleveland State University he acted as the recruiting and travel coordinator as well as assisted in preparing and initiating training sessions for the perennial Horizon League contenders. Laughlin presently is a member of the Region I Olympic Development Program regional staff. In October, Laughlin was named head coach of the Region I under 15 boys team. He coached the team in Florida in November and in Spain in February. He holds a "B" Coaching License from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and an Advanced National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). As a player, Laughlin was a four year letterwinner for the Black Bears and the teams he played on were ranked among the top 10 in the New England Region three of his four seasons in Orono. He captained the team as a senior in 1992, and over his career was named to the North Atlantic Conference All-Academic team in addition to receiving University of Maine Scholar-Athlete honors three times. A native of Dallas, Texas, Laughlin is a 1992 graduate of the University of Maine, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He earned his Masters of Education in Sports Management at Cleveland State University in 1996 while also serving as assistant coach. He currently resides in Bangor. |
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