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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Three Virginia men’s lacrosse players were selected in the 2010 Major League Lacrosse Draft, highlighted by first round selections Ken Clausen and Brian Carroll. Clausen was the fifth overall selection by the Denver Outlaws, while Carroll was the sixth overall pick by his hometown Chesapeake Bayhawks. Ryan Nizolek was a fifth round selection and 27th overall pick by the Boston Cannons, rounding out UVa’s MLL selections in the 2010 draft.

The trio joins a list of 45 previous Cavaliers who have gone on to play in the MLL following their Virginia careers. Including the 2010 draft, 31 Cavaliers have been picked in the MLL Collegiate Draft, including 12 first-round selections in the 10-year-old league.

Clausen (Downington, Pa.), along with Carroll, set the UVa career record for games played. Clausen started 70 games, every contest during his four-year career, and became the first player in program history to be named a three-time first-team All-American.

“I’ve always had great impressions of Denver,” Clausen said. “It’s always a place I’ve wanted to spend a little time. No matter whom you talk to, whether it’s indoor or outdoor lacrosse, I hear the fans are great. They are really supportive and I’m looking forward to that.”

A Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, Clausen recorded a ground ball in 68 of his 70 contests. In 2010 Virginia led the nation in groundballs per game with 37.17 and Clausen finished eighth in the nation in caused turnovers per game with a 2.06 average.

“I felt like he was a great athlete, really rangy and could also play long stick middie,” Outlaws head coach and general manager Brian Reese said. “He’s good at getting groundballs and really great between the lines. We really felt like he was the best defenseman in the draft.”

Chesapeake held the sixth and final pick of the first round thanks to an off-season trade with Toronto and used it to select Carroll, a three-time All-American at Virginia.

Carroll, a Towson, Md., native, scored his final career goal with 1:21 left in the national semifinal game against Duke, tying the score 13-13. The score put Carroll in a tie with Pete Eldredge for most goals by a UVa midfielder with 94. Eldredge set the standard in 1972.

“Brian Carroll is the consummate off-ball player,” said Chesapeake general manager Spencer Ford. “Brian knows how to find open spaces and has an incredible shot. He will be a great righty shooter on extra man offense.”



Nizolek (Madison, Conn.), along with Clausen, helped lead a UVa defense that allowed only two teams to exceed its goals scored average per game. Towson and Duke (national semifinal game) were the two squads to accomplish the feat on the UVa defense and both failed to exceed the goals scored per game average by a full goal. Nizolek finished his senior campaign appearing in 15 games, while collecting 31 ground balls and dishing out three assists in transition.

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