Three players that helped the U.S. win the 2017 Federation of International (FIL) World Cup — Becca Block, Kayla Treanor and Michelle Tumolo — highlighted the players selected in Women's Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) Draft, as announced by the league on Tuesday night.
All three Syracuse graduates played in the United Women's Lacrosse League (UWLX) last year, with Tumolo, now in her first year as the head coach at Wagner College, helping the Philadelphia Force win the UWLX championship with a three-goal effort in a 13-7 win over Boston.
Tumolo was the No. 1 pick in the WPLL draft, going to the Philadelphia Fire. Treanor, who set a U.S. record with 43 points in the 2017 FIL World Cup, went No. 2 overall to New York. Block, a defender, went No. 6 to defending WPLL champion New England.
"She's one of the most well-rounded attackers in the game today," said Philadelphia head coach Ricky Fried of Tumolo, who he coached on Team USA. "She can create for herself or her teammates, shoots inside and outside and gets everyone involved on the offense. Last but not least, she rides as hard as anyone, always working for the team."
Two other players with gold medals to their credit are also moving from the UWLX to the WPLL. Katrina Dowd, the leading scorer on the 2013 U.S. World Cup championship team, will join Treanor on the New York squad. Cortney Fortunato, the leading scorer on the 2011 U.S. U19 championship team, was selected by Baltimore with the No. 4 overall pick.
"We are beyond excited for season two to get underway," said WPLL founder Michele DeJuliis, herself a World Cup champion. "The WPLL is thrilled to welcome our talented new additions, giving them the opportunity to not only experience playing the game at the highest level but also benefit from the WPLL's professional development opportunities. These new players are joining an already incredibly talented group of returning players, and together all of our players will make season two more exciting to watch."
The draft included new players to the league, and players shifting teams within the WPLL. Each team was allowed to protect up to 15 players from their 2018 rosters. Teams will be able to select additional players during the collegiate draft in the spring.
Among the biggest moves within the WPLL was Aly Messinger moving from New England to Philadelphia. Messinger scored the game-winning goal with 19.5 seconds left to give New England a 12-11 victory over Baltimore in the WPLL's inaugural championship game this past summer on Tierney Field at US Lacrosse headquarters.
2018 WPLL Draft - Top 10 Picks
1. Philadelphia - Michelle Tumolo
2. New York - Kayla Treanor
3. Upstate - Shelby Fredericks
4. Baltimore - Cortney Fortunato
5. New England - Steph Lazo
6. New England - Becca Block
7. Baltimore - Kathy Rudkin
8. Upstate - Molly Hulseman
9. New York - Catie Ingrilli
10. Philadelphia - Aly Messinger
More draft results at https://twitter.com/prowomenslax