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Prospect watch: Matt Loughnane
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By Matt Grubba
Published: Sunday, July 22, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Tuesday, August 21, 2012
MATT LOUGHNANE
5-foot-10, 160 pounds, K, Penn-Trafford
Athletes who are being recruited by Division I schools for two sports aren't uncommon. Being recruited for two sports in the same season is rarer.
That's the situation Penn-Trafford senior Matt Loughnane finds himself in, as schools have noticed his achievements on football and soccer fields.
Last school year, he led the WPIAL in field goals with nine and was selected as an all-state kicker. During the same season, he led the Warriors' soccer team in goals.
Among the Division I schools seeking his soccer services are Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Penn State, Richmond and Temple. Richmond — a Division I FCS school — and Temple are interested him in football.
“Schools don't really contact kickers much until after their senior season, so I'll probably hear from more schools about football in a few months,” Loughnane said.
Loughnane still is considering whether he will play one or both sports in college. The good thing for him is he can pick the brain of someone who did play both.
Loughnane plays his club soccer on Beadling's region-winning under-17 boys team, and one of that team's assistant coaches is Matt Bahr, a former professional soccer player and two-time Super Bowl-winning kicker with the Steelers and Giants.
Bahr starred in both sports in college at Penn State, and Loughnane said he hasn't hesitated in asking for advice.
“I actually talk to him a lot. With colleges coming up to me, he's a great resource to have,” Loughnane said.
“It's a lot harder now to play both (in college) than when he played. But he tells me it's pretty much a bargaining game. If a school just wants you to kick (football), remind them that soccer makes you a better kicker.
“But right now, I don't know what I'm going to do in college. I'm still considering both.”
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