Pat Laughlin Named Assistant Men's Soccer Coach

Sept. 2, 2006

KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island men's soccer coach John O'Connor has announced the hiring of Pat Laughlin as the newest assistant coach on the Ram staff. Laughlin has spent the past six seasons as the head coach at Dean College in Franklin, Mass.

During his tenure, Laughlin led Dean to their first-ever trip to the NJCAA National Finals in 2002. The Bulldogs were also named New England Region Champions in 2002, 2003 and runner-up in 2005. His teams posted a 69-36-6 record, and he coached four NJCAA All-Americans and four Academic All-Americans. Laughlin was named New England Region Coach of the Year and a finalist for the National Coach of the Year in 2002.

"Pat comes to URI with a great coaching pedigree, including stints as a head coach and a Division I assistant" said O'Connor. "He has great knowledge and background of the game, knows the state of Rhode Island and, along with Gareth Elliott, is a great boost for the program at a crucial time of transition here at URI".

Laughlin is a 1992 Maine graduate, where he received a degree in history. He also earned his masters in sports management from Cleveland State in 1996.

A four year letterman for the Black Bears, Maine was ranked in the top-10 in the New England Region three of the four seasons that Laughlin was on the team. Named team captain his senior year, he was named to the North Atlantic Conference All-Academic team and was as a recipient of the University of Maine Scholar-Athlete Medallion three times.

Prior to Laughlin's arrival at Dean, he built a program at Champlain College, recording a 28-21-3 mark over three seasons. The Beavers were Northeast Region Champions in 1997 and finalists in 1998 and 1999. As an assistant coach at Cleveland State, he acted as recruiting and travel coordinator as well as assisted in preparing and initiating training sessions for the perennial Horizon League contenders.

Laughlin is a member of the Region I Olympic Development Program regional staff and coaches with the USL Super Y League.

"I'm excited to join the Rhode Island staff and be a part of such a successful program," said Laughlin. "Coach O'Connor and I both played under Jim Dyer at Maine so our basic coaching philosophies began under the same circumstances."

Laughlin will join former Ram standout Gareth Elliott, who begins his fourth season in Kingston. "Like Gareth, Pat comes from a very experienced soccer background," said O'Connor. "They'll both be able to look at our program from a slightly different point of view and I'm confident they will both bring something different to the team."