The Baltimore Bayhawks will get some fresh legs Wednesday, when Major League Lacrosse will hold its collegiate draft at Sacred Heart University. The Bayhawks have three of the top five picks.
Despite winning the 2005 MLL championship, the Bayhawks (1-1) acquired the second, fourth and fifth picks in trades with Denver and Rochester.
Bayhawks attackman Mark Millon was at the semifinals of the NCAA Final Four in Philadelphia. “I have seen some really good players this weekend, and we are really fortunate to have three of the top five picks,” Millon said.
Millon, who owns the career record for hat tricks, raised the mark to 42 after a six-goal performance Saturday night in a 19-16 home win over Chicago (0-2).
Millon did not have records on his mind coming into the team?s home opener. “All I was thinking about was trying to win; you do not want to go down 0-2,” he said.
“Mark played well,” said head coach Scott Hiller. “He is definitely the type of guy that if he gets his confidence early he is going to keep going with it.”
Hiller also said that this year?s collegiate draft holds a lot of potential. “We certainly need a couple of midfielders that can go to the goal, and we also need an attackman who can make some things happen.”
Hiller also expressed some concerns with the Bayhawks? defense after the game Saturday. “We still need to do a better job communicating on defense, giving up 16 goals and 17 goals back-to-back is not going to win a lot of games,” Hiller said.
Bayhawk veteran Tom Marechek said that the outcome of the draft is impossible to predict. “We need one or two good midfielders, maybe one defenseman, but who knows,” Marechek said.
“Matt Ward (Virginia) looked good, so we are thinking of him and [Sean] Morris from UMass looked good, too,” Marechek said.
Millon said that the draft will help the Bayhawks win, and every win is a step closer to the playoffs. “This league is all about getting enough wins to get into the playoffs and then hopefully toward the end of the season putting a run together,” he said.
