With the first overall pick in this past Friday’s 2014 MLL Draft, the Ohio Machine selected midfielder Tom Schreiber out of Princeton. Schreiber was the consensus number one pick in the draft and will obviously be a huge piece for the Machine as they look to rebuild following a disappointing 2-12 season in 2013.
“I’m very excited,” Schreiber said in a Princeton news release. “It’s a great honor. There had been a lot of speculation and I just tried to enjoy the process. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to keep playing lacrosse after graduation.”
“Not only was Tom Schreiber the best player in this draft, we got the best player in college lacrosse,” said Ohio General Manager and President John Algie. “In addition to Tom, every player we drafted will strengthen our team in 2014 and address areas of need on our roster.”
Schreiber is a two-time First-Team All-America as well as three-time First-Team All-Ivy League selection. As a junior last season, he was also a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy—the annual award given out to the most outstanding American college lacrosse player. He enters his senior year with 76 goals and 73 assists for his career. His 149 career points are already the most ever by a Princeton midfielder, surpassing Princeton alum Ryan Boyle who went on to become the MLL’s all-time leader in points and assists.
Schreiber won’t be the only new acquisition in Ohio looking to make an immediate impact. The Machine selected two more midfielders with their next three picks—a move which puzzled some analysts since offensive midfielders were certainly not the Machine’s only deficiency last year. Nonetheless, Rob Guida (M, Johns Hopkins) was selected in Round 2, 13th overall. Before missing the majority of the 2013 season due to injury, the Chatham, NJ native earned Second-Team All-America honors in 2012 as he posted 17 goals and 11 assists in 16 games. Ohio native Scott Loy (M, Syracuse) was selected in Round 4, 27th overall; Loy started 18 games at midfield for Syracuse last season and will add to the wealth of young midfield talent for the Machine.
With the 25th overall pick in Round 4, Ohio selected defenseman Jackson Place (D, Bucknell). Place is an aggressive, physical player who can make his presence felt in the Ohio lineup right away. He ranked 17th nationally last season with 30 caused turnovers and ranked 3rd on the Bucknell team with 43 groundballs.
Ohio then selected Loy’s teammate Derek Maltz (A, Syracuse) in Round 5, 39th overall. Maltz was a Co-Captain for the Syracuse Orange last season, finishing second on the team with 32 goals. With the first picks in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds, Ohio selected Stephan O’Hara (D, Notre Dame), R.G. Keenan (F/O, Notre Dame), and Spencer Schnell (M, Ohio Wesleyan), respectively. One of the many storylines of the draft was the mystery behind Ohio waiting until the 7th round to choose someone to fill the void at the face-off position. The Machine only won a dismal 38.9% of face-offs last season. Ohio chose to reach for Guida in the second round and subsequently pass on the likes of Fowler, Levings, and Hiken. The Machine are hoping their risk pays off and that Keenan come in and drastically improve last season’s miserable percentage.
Overall, despite adding a wealth of young talent, the Machine weren’t able to fully address their needs after last season. They failed to get a replacement for Hartzell at LSM and for now have left key piece Brian Farrell without competition at his position. That being said, after a 2-12 season and the #1 overall pick, the only way Ohio can go is up (hopefully).
