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Thursday, September 26, 2002

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

SCHOOL: Pine-Richland

	Neil Walker: 22 receptions this fall for Pine-Richland. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

WHO IS HE? A senior and top receiver for the undefeated Pine-Richland football team.

SEASON: Walker, 6 feet 2, 200 pounds is among the leading receivers in the WPIAL. He has 22 catches for 337 yards and has scored four touchdowns. He also is a starting defensive back.

CAREER: Walker caught 22 passes for 305 yards as a sophomore. This season, he is the favorite target of quarterback Kevin McCabe. "As last season went on, I got more catches," Walker said. "I think Kevin is just more confident in throwing to me this year."

Pine-Richland Coach Clair Altemus said: "Neil and Kevin are just in a groove this year. It's a dangerous combination. ... Neil's not a real fast kid, but all he does is keep getting open."

BETTER IN BASEBALL: Although Walker is excelling in football, his best sport is baseball. Walker has been Pine-Richland's starting catcher since his freshman year and had a .600 batting average as a sophomore. Major-league baseball scouts have noticed Walker, and he could be a high draft pick after his senior season. He is even more attractive to scouts because he is a switch hitter. "My father and I have really worked hard on being a switch hitter ever since I was 12," Walker said.

He was the MVP in the American Legion western all-star game this summer.

"The thing is, he can go yard from either side of the plate," Altemus said. "Plus, he has a cannon for an arm. I've seen him pick off guys at second base, throwing from his knees."

SPORTY FAMILY: Walker comes from a family of athletes. His father, Tom, pitched years ago with the Montreal Expos. His oldest brother, Matt, was an outfielder this season for the Detroit Tigers' Class A minor-league team. His other brother, Sean, is a pitcher at George Mason. His sister, Carrie, plays basketball at Wagner, a Division I college.

A QUARTERBACK NEXT YEAR: Although Walker has made an impact as a receiver, Altemus plans to move him to quarterback next season. "I'm excited about that. It should be fun," Walker said.

SCHOOL: Beaver

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-4 senior and the leading goal scorer in WPIAL girls' soccer.

THE PAST WEEK: Although Loffreda was held scoreless in Monday's game against Center, she scored both goals in a 2-1 victory against North Hills Saturday and had two in a 6-0 victory against Riverside last Wednesday.

SEASON: Loffreda has 30 goals in 10 games. She has helped Beaver to a 7-3 record overall and a 6-1 mark in WPIAL Class AA Section 5.

CAREER: Loffreda scored 29 goals last year and 15 as a sophomore at Upper St. Clair. She left Upper St. Clair after her sophomore year.

ABOUT THE MOVE: Upper St. Clair is a perennial power in WPIAL Class AAA soccer, and Loffreda started for the Panthers as a freshman and sophomore. Her transfer to Beaver was for family reasons.

"My father is an anesthesiologist in Beaver, and he just wanted to be closer to his work," she said.

A DIFFERENT SOCCER CULTURE: Loffreda found soccer isn't as big in Beaver as it is in Upper St. Clair. "I had to get used to the fact that soccer is not the main sport for a lot of people here," she said. "Hardly anybody plays Cup soccer here [in the off-season]."

Loffreda plays Cup soccer for Beadling. For Beaver, she is the focal point of the team.

"There's a lot more pressure on me this year," she said. "My coach [Martin Byrnes] wants me to get 50 goals this year. I'm trying. I could reach it."

CAMPING ABROAD: Loffreda usually spends a few weeks every summer attending soccer camps in Italy.

"My dad is from Rome and my mother is from Sicily, so we have a lot of family there," she said. "We usually go to Italy for three or four weeks every year."

ON THE SLOPES: Loffreda is an avid skier. She has been skiing since she was 3, and in the winter, she works as a ski instructor for children.