Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/11/10
Salesianum School (DE) senior goalie Dan Rodgers has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I lacrosse at Drexel University.
Rodgers, of West Chester, led the Sals to a 17-0 record and the Delaware state championship last year and was named Third Team All-State.
Rodgers, who plays for Team HEADstrong, built strong ties both with Drexel head coach Brian Voelker and one of his assistants, Chris Collins before signing. Rodgers was first recruited by Voelker while he was coaching at Penn; Voelker, who will be inducted later this month in the Baltimore chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame, was hired by Drexel midway through last summer.
Rodgers also built a rapport with Collins, formerly an assistant at Delaware, when Rodgers played on the Team 302 club in Delaware. At Drexel, Rodgers plans to study Business and Commerce.
“The one thing I loved about Drexel was the city,” Rodgers said. “The coaching staff is awesome. I was getting recruited by Penn when I first met coach Voelker.
“And then I played on Club Team 302, Chris Collins was the coach. I didn’t know he was going to be coaching at Drexel. When he went, that was great.”
Rodgers will follow good friend and Drexel sophomore goalie Mark Manos, another Salesianum grad from West Chester, to West Philadelphia. Manos enjoyed a brilliant freshman season, earning Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year.
“When coach Voelker switched to Drexel, he gave me a call and I was ecstatic,” Rodgers said. “I fell in love with it. I like all the players. I was following Mark, and being that our families have been friends, and just growing up with him through grade school and high school, I talked to him a good amount during the season.
“It was a good influence. He liked it down there and that made everything cool.”
Rodgers also joins Conestoga midfielder Jason Klunder as Drexel signees.
As he look ahead to 2010, Rodgers is optimistic the Sals can repeat as state champs. The team features two other committed players, senior defenseman Mark Cyron (Division II Merrimack College) and junior defenseman Ryan Kilpatrick (North Carolina), as well as several other key returnees.
“I can’t wait, personally,” said Rodgers. “The defense will be outstanding with Mark and Ryan and we have (junior) Andrew Blundin on offense. I think we’ll come out strong and have a good road ahead of us.
“We’re playing Malvern Prep and scrimmaging Calvert Hall so we’ll have some good competition st start the season.”
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