Andrew Blechman wasn't paying much attention when his dream came true.
The 2006 College graduate, a three-year starting defender and two-time All-Ivy selection, saw his name appear online as the Long Island Lizards' fifth-round selection in the Major League Lacrosse draft.
"I had no expectation of being drafted," he said. "There was a thought in the back of my mind that maybe, someday, if I'm lucky enough, I can play" at the next level.
Also selected from the Quakers program was D.J. Andrzejewski. The two-year captain was selected in the third round, 29th overall, by the Boston Cannons after leading Penn in scoring this past year. He is already listed on the Cannons' official roster.
"Those guys earned that, and I wasn't surprised at all that [they] got drafted," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "Those guys have done a great job for four years."
The players' stock likely rose after the 2006 season, in which the Quakers went from 2-11 to 10-4 overall and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in Voelker's fourth year at Penn's helm.
The draft, held last Wednesday night in Fairfield, Conn., capped a long but somewhat informal process for both the players and the professional teams. The MLL teams made their selections after a short combine workout and interview session. Blechman and another Penn player who was not drafted, defender Joe Shanagan, were unable to participate in the combine.
Instead, much of the pro teams' scouting took place in the form of phone calls and evaluations during college games.
"I kind of spread the word," Voelker said. "Lacrosse is a pretty small world. I know pretty well ... most of the guys who are involved in that league." Small world may be an understatement for Voelker, who played for the Lizards and also for the Baltimore Bayhawks, leading them to the first MLL championship game in 2001.
He cautioned, though that his role was not simply to advocate for his former players, saying "I can't just go out there and say 'draft these guys from my team' ... you have to give [the pro scouts] an honest assessment."
That assessment likely takes on an added importance because of the nature of the MLL. In addition to being a far more physical league with only the best athletes, pro lacrosse is played in a manner far different from the collegiate level. It includes a shot clock, a two-point arc, and a markedly different pace of play.
"It's a lot more up-and-down," Andrzejewski said.
Aside from adapting to the new system around them, the pro game forces some players to adopt entirely different roles. Voelker said that the nature of the league will likely force Andrzejewski to play in the midfield, a shift from his role as an attacker with the Quakers. "He was too talented for us not to be in the game the whole time," Voelker said.
As for Blechman, his spot as a defender will probably remain much the same, though he may not anchor a defense the way he did for the Quakers.
And despite the difficulties of balancing an athletic career with a developing personal life, both Blechman and Andrzejewski plan on taking their newfound opportunity as far as possible.
"It's something that I think is very feasible," Blechman said.
The business side of each of the players' new careers has been all but decided with the MLL, which differs from most pro sports teams in that it operates under a single-entity ownership structure that precludes much negotiation.
But even though the MLL is a relatively recent development within the sports world -- it was launched in June of 2001 -- the league seems to be growing in prominence. It recently added four expansion teams for the 2006 season to form a new Western Conference that will compete along with the original six, and the league will add two more in 2008 with cities such as Dallas, San Diego, and Seattle named as possible venues.
Andrzejewski could be joined by a pair of his Ivy League opponents on the Boston roster, as the team also drafted attackman Jamie Coffin and midfielder Ryan Danehy -- both of Dartmouth -- in the fourth and fifth rounds. Brad Heritage of the Big Green (fourth round to San Fransisco) and Joe Boulukos of Cornell (second round to Chicago) were the only other Ancient Eight players taken this year.
