Seven ECAC Athletes Selected in MLL Draft

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Seven athletes from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) were selected in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft, held Friday, Jan. 14 at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott.  Denver senior attack Mark Matthews was selected with the fourth overall pick by the Denver Outlaws as the highest ECAC draftee.

Matthews enters the 2012 season as an Inside Lacrosse Magazine pre-season All-American.  The senior finished the 2011 season, which resulted in the first trip to the final four in Pioneers’ history, with 70 points on 46 goals and 24 assists.  Matthews also picked up 42 ground balls and forced 29 turnovers, setting 61 percent of his shots on goal during the season.  The MLL’s Outlaws traded with the Long Island Lizards to move up the draft board and choose Matthews.

Two ECAC athletes were taken in the third round of the draft, as Denver senior Alex Demopoulos was the 24th overall selection by the Ohio Machine.  Entering their inaugural season in the MLL, the Machine bring in a proven offensive threat in Demopoulos.  The pre-season third-team all-America selection ended the 2011 campaign with 30 goals and 28 assists for 58 points, recording a 75 percent conversion rate with shots on goal.  

Demopoulos was joined in the third round by Hobart senior midfielder Bobby Dattilo, who was selected by the Rochester Rattlers with the 25th overall selection.  The second-team pre-season All-America selection finished 2011 with 93 ground balls and a 65 percent faceoff percentage, the third-highest percentage in the nation.

Ohio State senior defenseman Brock Sorensen was selected in the fifth round by the Hamilton Nationals with the 47th overall pick.  A captain for the 2011 squad, Sorensen helped anchor an Ohio State defense that led the ECAC in caused turnovers per game (7.88) and goals against average (7.99) in 2011, finishing the season ranked in the top five in all conference team defensive categories.  

The sixth round saw two Fairfield athletes drafted back-to-back.  Senior midfielder Brent Adams was selected by the Chesapeake Bayhawks with the 53rd overall selection, followed immediately by senior goalkeeper Charlie Cipriano, who was selected by the Outlaws with the 54th overall pick. The pair are the first two Stags taken in the same MLL draft in program history.  Adams, a two-time All-ECAC first team selection, finished 2011 with 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points. The senior also continued his billing as a top defender, collecting 19 ground balls and forcing 11 turnovers.  Cipriano earned ECAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2011, starting all but two games between the pipes for the Stags.  The senior is coming off of a junior season in which he played 947 minutes and made 177 saves.  His .586 save percentage – which ranked sixth nationally -- and 7.92 goals against average last season led the ECAC.

Bellarmine senior attack Austin Bright was selected in the seventh round by the Machine with the 58th overall pick, allowing him to return to his home state.  The Delaware, Ohio native tied for the team lead in 2011 with 18 goals, playing in all 15 games for the Knights.  Bright had five multi-goal games, including two hat tricks in wins over Detroit (Feb. 12) and Presbyterian (Mar. 26).