Chicago Machine wheels and deals, lands championship duo
May 29, 2008 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chicago Machine News Release
Hoboken, NJ - With a whirlwind of trades at the 2008 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft Wednesday, the Chicago Machine managed to land a hometown hero and a super-sibling. Chicago, which owned the number-one overall pick in the draft, traded its first selection and attackman Sean Morris for a series of first-round picks. When the smoke cleared, the team had acquired Steven Brooks of Libertyville, Ill., and Mike Leveille, brother of Machine star Kevin Leveille. Brooks and Mike Leveille, who were teammates at Syracuse University, are coming off a national championship win Monday over Johns Hopkins.
Brooks, a first-team United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America, scored 28 goals and had 41 points in his senior season, a campaign that saw him notch five game-winning goals. Mike Leveille, meanwhile, tallied 83 points on 49 goals and 34 assists, also landing first-team All-America honors.
"We need guys who can score," said Machine President and General Manager John Meister. "In our first two games we averaged 9.5 goals. That's not enough in the MLL. I think the moves we made will help us."
Chicago first dealt Morris, its number-two scorer in 2007, to the Boston Cannons for the eighth overall pick of the draft, then traded the first overall selection to Boston in exchange for the number-four and number-six overall picks. After the Cannons took Johns Hopkins' Paul Rabil with the first pick and New Jersey selected Mike Leveille with the third pick, Chicago grabbed Stephen Peyser at four. Brooks, the 2008 NCAA Division I Midfielder of the Year, fell to the Machine at number six. With the number-eight overall pick, Chicago bolstered its midfield with University of Maryland Baltimore County's Terry Kimener.
After adding University of Virginia defensive midfielder Will Barrow with the first pick of the second round, Chicago traded Peyser and the 21st and 30th overall picks in the 2008 draft to New Jersey in exchange for Mike Leveille and the 23rd pick. With the 23rd pick, the Machine added Georgetown attackman Brendan Cannon. Chicago rounded out its draft-day haul with Virginia goalie Bud Petit.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 29, 2008
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- Cannons select total of four midfielders in 2008 MLL Collegiate Draft - Boston Cannons
- Chicago Machine wheels and deals, lands championship duo - Chicago Machine
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