Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/21/08
Midfielder Matt Striebel and defender Kyle Sweeney (Springfield-Delco) of the Philadelphia Barrage were named to the All-Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team Thursday.
Striebel and Sweeney led the two-time defending champion Barrage to a 7-5 season and a berth in the NB ZIP MLL Championship Weekend. The Barrage will face the top-seeded and Eastern Conference champion Rochester Rattlers on Saturday, August 23 at Harvard Stadium in the first semi-final at 12 p.m., which will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Named to the All-MLL Team for the second consecutive season, Striebel ranked second on the Barrage in scoring with 42 points, scoring a career-best 31 goals with 11 assists. He ranked third among midfielders in both categories.
Striebel scored a season-high four goals four times, including the season finale against New Jersey when he tallied four goals with two assists. Over the last three seasons, he has scored 79 goals while helping the Barrage reach the postseason in each campaign.
A two-time selection to the All-MLL Team, Sweeney led Philadelphia to its third straight NB ZIP MLL Championship Weekend berth after scoring five goals with four assists in 11 games. He ranked second among defensemen in scoring while his 47 groundballs were tied for seventh in the MLL rankings among defenders.
Sweeney, who has scored 10 goals in the last two years, opened the season with one goal and two assists against Washington on May 18 and tallied a goal in each of the first three games.
The All-MLL team:
Attack: John Grant, Jr. (Rochester), Kevin Leveille (Chicago), Merrick Thomson (New Jersey); Midfield: Matt Striebel(Philadelphia), Brian Langtry (Denver), Joe Walters (Rochester); Defense: Kyle Sweeney (Philadelphia), Eric Martin (San Francisco), Brodie Merrill (Rochester); Goalkeeper: Mickey Jarboe (Los Angeles), Rob Scherr (New Jersey); Face-off Specialist: Alex Smith (Rochester).
