Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/29/13
From Press Release
Former University of Delaware men’s lacrosse standouts Nick Diachenko and Dom Sebastiani (Moorestown) were recently selected in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) Entry Draft.
Diachenko, a 6-0 midfielder from Courtice, Ontario, Canada (Holy Trinity High School), and Sebastiani, a midfielder, were among 55 standouts selected in the draft for the premier indoor league. Both were standouts for the Blue Hens over the past four seasons for head coach Bob Shillinglaw and graduated this past spring.
Diachenko was selected in the second round as the 14th overall pick by the Buffalo Bandits while Sebastiani was picked in the fifth round by the Colorado Mammoth with the 40th overall selection.
Diachenko earned second team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors in 2013 when he led the team with 35 goals and four assists. He earned the team’s Alumni Association Most Valuable Player Award and participated in the USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game. He finished his UD career with 67 career goals.
A five-year letterwinner, Sebastiani was one of the team’s top all-around players throughout his career. Despite missing seven games with injuries as a senior in 2013, he registered two goals and two assists, scooped up 21 groundballs, and ranked No. 2 on the team with 15 caused turnovers. He closed out his career with 10 goals and 23 assists, 123 groundballs, and 48 caused turnovers, the second highest total in school history.
Diachenko and Sebastiani will be among eight former UD players in the NLL this winter, joining Brett Manney, Luke Wiles, and Jordan Hall of the Philadelphia Wings; Scott Evans of the Toronto Rock; Curtis Dickson of the Calgary Roughnecks, and John Grant Jr. of the Colorado Mammoth. Grant, one of the all-time great professional lacrosse players, led the Chesapeake Bayhawks to the Major League Lacrosse outdoor title this past summer and was named the title game Most Valuable Player.
The 2013-14 Major League Lacrosse season will begin Dec. 28.
Diachenko and Sebastiani were among five Colonial Athletic Association players selected in the MLL Draft, joining Robert Church of Drexel (No. 5 overall pick by Edmonton), Adrian Sorichetti of Hofstra (No. 13 by Edmonton), Garrett McIntosh of Drexel (No. 24 by Calgary),
The 2013 NLL Entry Draft took place at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville, Ontario on Monday, Sept. 16 and was broadcast live on YouTube via The Lacrosse Network. The Minnesota Swarm selected Logan Schuss from Ohio State University with the first overall pick.
