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Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. The UWLX College Draft took over Twitter on Wednesday night. The Baltimore Ride, Boston Storm, Long Island Sound and Philadelphia Force selected several collegiate stars that will graduate in 2018.

The Storm drafted Stony Brook attacker Kylie Ohlmiller as the No. 1 overall pick after she set a Division I record in 2017 with 164 points, previously held by all-time great Jen Adams.

Boston College attacker Kenzie Kent – who tied the NCAA championship record with 10 points in the 2017 final and was then drafted for professional ice hockey by the Boston Pride in the 2017 NWHL Draft in August – was also selected by the Storm at No. 3.

Oregon goalie Brittany Read (Force, No. 2) and Northwestern attacker Shelby Fredericks (Sound, No. 4) rounded out the first-round draft picks.

Other big names were selected throughout the 16-round draft, including Ohlmiller’s teammate and fellow record holder Courtney Murphy.

Murphy, who returns this spring for the Seawolves after tearing her ACL and setting the single-season NCAA goals record in 2016, was selected at No. 36 by the Sound.

Read full draft results here.

2. Philly got its Wings. On Wednesday, the National Lacrosse League revealed the name of the Philadelphia expansion team – the Wings.

It was a familiar name for the city as a former league franchise named the Wings played from 1986-2014 before moving to New England and becoming the Black Wolves.

“The Wings are clearly the favorite, and we’re happy to give the fans what they want,” Lindsey Masciangelo, the team’s executive director of business operations, said.

3. Cathy Reese is returning to LaxCon. US Lacrosse announced Wednesday the champion Maryland women’s lacrosse coach will be a featured speaker for girls’ lacrosse coaches at the 2018 US Lacrosse Convention, set for Jan. 19-21 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

“LaxCon is such a great event to interact with so many people who are passionate about our sport,” Reese said. “It’s so special to be able to share and learn with fans and coaches, and I’m excited to be back this year.”

Buy your tickets today. Early bird registration ends at 11:59 p.m. today.

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4. Goalies are key to closing the gap between Canada and the U.S. in box lacrosse. While field players can switch to the box game easily, the box goalie position has no parallel to the field game. Therefore, the U.S. has struggled to find American-born goalies with indoor experience.

“It’s a problem, but we have more younger goalies,” U.S. indoor coach Regy Thorpe said. “It’s a process. That process has been broken, and we’re trying to fix it and compete at the world games.”

The future for U.S. box goalies looks bright as the NLL opens its teams to more American players. Those who go pro could be the next leader for the U.S. indoor national team.

5. WPLL players showed their support on social media for founder and CEO Michele DeJuliis after she writes an editorial for Inside Lacrosse.

 

What We’re Reading

  • US Lacrosse helps Grovetown (Ga.) add lacrosse with an equipment grant as the sport grows in the local area.

  • Inside Lacrosse breaks down the Division III landscape after fall ball in a podcast.

  • Six former Nantucket High School (Mass.) standouts will compete for the Jamaican national team at the 2018 FIL World Championship in Israel.

  • A new youth box lacrosse team is coming to West Kootenay in British Columbia, Canada.

What We’re Watching

US Lacrosse took on the #NoLookChallenge. Check it out.

What’s On Tap

  • You saw our #BestOfLax cover featuring the amazing Kenzie Kent. Today, you can read our cover story about Boston College’s two-sport star.

  • Subscribe today to our weekly email newsletter and stay connected to each week's top lacrosse stories. The newsletter goes out every Thursday.

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