BOSTON - Seven former America East men's lacrosse standouts were chosen in the National Lacrosse League 2008 Entry Draft on Sunday, Sept. 7 at TD Banknorth Garden.
Rhys Duch, a 2008 graduate of Stony Brook, was the third overall selection by the San Jose Stealth. UMBC's Cayle Ratcliff and Terry Kimener '08 were selected in the second and fourth round, respectively. Ratcliff went 15th overall to Calgary, while Kimener was chosen 43rd by Colorado. Albany's Steve Ammann '08 went in the third round (33rd overall) to New York, while Jordan Levine '08 was chosen in the fourth round (47th) by Philadelphia. Steve's twin brother, Mike '08, was selected in the fifth round (59th) by New York. Vermont graduate Trevor Wagar '08 was picked up in the fifth round (57th) by San Jose.
Duchs, a two-time second-team all-conference selection, led America East with 2.00 assists per game during the 2008 season. He also ranked sixth in points per game (2.93) and finished his career with 56 career scores for the Seawolves.
Ratcliffe played one season for the Retrievers and was an America East all-rookie selection in 2007. He scored 31 goals and was the fourth-leading rookie goal scorer in the country.
Levine, a two-time USILA All-American, finished his career with 57 goals, 56 assists and 321 ground balls. He was chosen to the All-America East first-team each of his final three seasons.
Kimener, the 2008 America East Player of
the Year, finished the year tied for second in the league with 48 points. A
second-team All-America selection, Kimener was named the Most Outstanding Player
of the America East Championship, which his team won with a thrilling 14-13
comeback win over Albany.
Steve Ammann, a two-time all-conference selection, played was taken with the 33rd overall pick. Ammann, who had 15 goals and 12 assists as a senior midfielder, earned second-team All-America East recognition for the second consecutive year in 2008. He appeared in 65 career games as a collegian.
Mike Ammann, a second-team all-conference honoree in 2007, totaled 65 career points with 23 goals and 42 assists.
Wagar played in all 16 games for the Catamounts last season and finished with 15 goals and six assists for 21 points, which ranked second on his team.
He matched a UVM single-game record with eight goals in a 9-6 win over Holy Cross on April 22 last season and earned America East Player of the Week honors. Wagar finished his career with 20 goals and eight assists for 28 points in 28 games.
The seven players selected from America East schools was second among all collegiate conferences, only to the nine that were taken from schools in the Great West Conference and more than the ACC (5) and ECAC (4).
The success continues a string of former America East stars shining on the professional stage. In May, Kimener and Levine, were taken in the Major League Lacrosse Draft, along with Brett Queener, a 2008 Albany graduate. Queener, a goalkeeper, helped lead Rochester to the league title with 10 second-half saves and an assist in the championship game.
Former America East Player of the Year John Grant was named 2008 MLL Offensive Player of the Year, while Albany's Merrick Thomson '07 was named the league's Most Improved Player. Both were named to the All-MLL team and MLL All-Star squads. Two other America East alums, Brendan Mundorf '06, a two-time league Player of the Year at UMBC and Mike Gabel '05, a former first-team all-conference goalkeeper from Vermont were also all-star choices.
Information from member institutions' athletic media relations departments was used in this report