BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh assistant coach Tom Compitello has been selected by the Hamilton Nationals in the sixth round (47th overall) of Wednesday’s Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft. A standout collegiate attackman, Compitello posted 146 career points (68 goals, 78 assists) at Stony Brook which led to a fifth-round selection in last year’s collegiate draft by eventual MLL Champion Boston.
Compitello will join a talented Hamilton roster, which includes lacrosse greats Brodie Merrill, Casey Powell, Geoff Snider and Joe Walters, among others. Last season, the Nationals defeated Denver, 11-9, in a classic Semifinal to advance to the Championship Game, where they fell to the Boston Cannons.
Compitello’s collegiate career was highlighted by his All-America junior campaign when he scored 37 goals and dished out 35 assists to help lead the Seawolves to the National Quarterfinals. He scored three goals in an NCAA First Round win over Denver, one of which was a behind the crease dive shot that earned him an ESPN Top Play.
A Hauppage, N.Y. native (the same hometown as Lehigh junior Dante Fantoni), Compitello was drafted sixth overall by the Jacksonville Bullies of the newly-formed North American Lacrosse League in October. The team’s first game is Jan. 19 at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks.
Compitello enters his first season on the Lehigh sideline, which kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Saint Joseph’s. The Mountain Hawks return home a week later to welcome local rival and #10/11 Villanova.
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