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Delaware Men's Lacrosse News |
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5-31-07
Three University of Delaware Men’s Lacrosse Players
Picked in
Major League Lacrosse Draft
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STONY BROOK, NY -- Three members of the University of Delaware men’s
lacrosse team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four earlier this month
were selected in the seventh annual Major League Lacrosse College Draft
held Thursday night at Stony Brook University.
All-American faceoff specialist Alex Smith was selected by the Rochester
Rattlers with the third pick overall while the Chicago Machine selected
both All-American midfielder Jordan Hall and two-time first team
All-Colonial Athletic Association midfielder Dan Deckelbaum. Hall was
the first pick of the second round and the 11th selection overall while
Deckelbaum was the 28th overall pick with the eighth choice in the third
round.
National semifinalist Cornell had five players drafted while Delaware,
Virginia, Princeton, Massachusetts, and Loyola each had three players
selected in the five-round, 50-player draft. Other CAA players picked
were Villanova midfielder/faceoff specialist Chris Colliniates (25th,
New Jersey), Drexel defender Adam Crystal (31st, Long Island) and
midfielder Mike Filippone (50th, Philadelphia), and Hofstra midfielder
Julian Watts (36th, Los Angeles).
Chicago selected Penn State midfielder Pat Heim with the first pick of
the draft while Boston selected Virginia goalkeeper Kip Turner and
Rochester tabbed Smith. UMBC attackman Drew Westervelt was the fourth
pick overall by Denver followed by Navy midfielder BIll Looney
(Chicago), Fairfield midfielder Greg Downing (Los Angeles), Syracuse
midfielder Greg Rommel (Rochester), Cornell attackman David Mitchell
(Boston), Maryland defender Ray Megill (Boston), and Cornell goalkeeper
Matt McMonagle (Long Island).
Smith, a native of Timonium, MD (Boy’s Latin High School), is expected
to be a first round pick after closing out an outstanding collegiate
career that saw him earn All-American honors three times and establish
six NCAA records for faceoffs and groundballs. He finished his career as
the greatest faceoff specialist in the history of the college game as he
virtually rewrote the NCAA record book. He led the nation in faceoff
winning percentage for the third straight season this spring as he won
311 of 430 attempts for a 72.3 percentage and also led the country with
a school-record 170 groundballs (8.95 per game). He also scored five
goals and dished out three assists on the season despite only playing on
faceoff situations.
He established NCAA records for faceoffs won in a season (311 in 2007)
and career (1,027), faceoffs attempted in a season (430 in 2007) and
career (14,84), groundballs in a career (553), and faceoff pct. in a
game (1.000, 21 for 21 vs. Manhattan, 2006). He won 50 percent or better
of his faceoffs in 61 of his UD record 69 career games. He is one of
only seven players in UD history to earn all-conference honors all four
years and was named the 2007 CAA Player of the Year and 2007 CAA
Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Hall, a three-time All-CAA selection and the 2005 CAA Player of the Year
from Surrey, British Columbia (Fleetwood Park High School), was
Delaware’s second leading scorer with 38 points on 26 goals and 12
assists and ranked second on the team with 54 groundballs. He scored at
least one point in each of his final 31 career games and ended the
season as the leading career scorer among all active NCAA Division I
midfielders. A member of the Canadian National Team, Hall played in 66
career games with 61 starts and recorded 140 points on 85 goals and 55
assists and scooped up 184 groundballs. He ranks No. 13 on the all-time
UD list for assists and points and No. 17 for goals and his goal just
three seconds into a 2006 game vs. Albany is an NCAA record for fastest
goal to start a game. He also recorded six career hat tricks, including
four in 2007.
Deckelbaum, a midfielder from Owings Mills, MD (Owings Mills High
School), also was a four-year standout and three-year starter for the
Blue Hens. He was the team’s third leading scorer this spring with 35
points on 27 goals and eight assists and earned first team All-CAA
honors for the second straight year. He ended his career by registering
97 career points on 77 goals and 20 assists and posted nine career hat
tricks.
Delaware posted a 13-6 overall record, captured the Colonial Athletic
Association Tournament title, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for
just the fourth time in school history for head coach Bob Shillinglaw
this spring. The 15th-ranked Blue Hens advanced to the NCAA Final Four
for the first time in school history as they defeated defending national
champion Virginia 14-8 in the first round and UMBC 10-6 in the
quarterfinals. Delaware’s improbable run came to an end with an 8-3
loss
to No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins in the NCAA semifinals March 26.
Currently four former Delaware players are on active rosters in the MLL,
including midfielder and faceoff specialist Jason Motta (Philadelphia),
former USILA National College Player of the Year and perennial MLL
All-Star John Grant (Rochester), current UD assistant coach and
goalkeeper Chris Collins (Washington), and attackman Matt Alrich (San
Francisco).
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