The final piece is in place for the Washington Stealth.
Washington Stealth transition player Paul Rabil, last year’s National Lacrosse League West Division Finals savior with the game-winner 8 seconds into overtime against Edmonton, agreed to a three-year contact with the club on Thursday, making the Gaithersburg, Md., native the final piece off last year’s championship team to sign a new deal.
“I’m extremely excited to have the opportunity to come back to the Pacific Northwest and play with the Stealth, get back to camp with the boys and start working hard to achieve our goals,” Rabil said in a phone interview.
Rabil, who appeared in 15 regular season games for the Stealth, finished with 11 goals and 26 assists while corralling 84 loose balls — all are career-highs for the third-year player.
“He certainly made a commitment to us (traveling from Baltimore, Md., for games),” Stealth general manager Doug Locker said. “So, we wanted to make a commitment to him (with a long-term deal).”
A four-time NCAA All-American at Johns Hopkins University, Rabil recorded a career-high three goals, including the game-winner in overtime, on May 8 against the Edmonton Rush at KeyArena in Seattle — vaulting the Stealth to the NLL Champion’s Cup final against Toronto.
“I’m an East Coast guy, but the relationship that I’ve built out west within the organization and outside with the fans in the community led me to want to re-sign with the Stealth and continue on such a great season that we had last year,” said Rabil, who will be in training camp for the Stealth this Saturday and Sunday at Comcast Arena.
Following the NLL finals victory, Rabil earned a gold medal with Team USA at the World Lacrosse Championships this past summer in Manchester, England. He earned Most Outstanding Player at the quadrennial international field lacrosse tournament after scoring 23 points (16 goals, seven assists) in seven games.
“Paul is truly developing into a fantastic indoor lacrosse player,” Stealth head coach Chris Hall said in a press release from the team. “He’s an explosive player and virtually impossible to handle one-on-one. He really adds another dimension to our team and in just his third NLL season, he is on the verge of becoming one of the best in the game.”
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder’s stock increased even more in October when he was featured in ESPN the Magazine’s annual “Body Issue” and later that month appeared in a spread in the New York Times begging the question, “Can Paul Rabil Make Lacrosse Sexy?”
“It’s been really humbling, but I’ve also been very fortunate to be around and be a part of organizations that have been successful and helped me be successful as well,” Rabil said of his increased notoriety. “A lot of that has been a product of the people that I’ve been fortunate to be associated with. My secondary role in this game is to continue to try and grow it from the ground up. We all see the potential in the sport of lacrosse — I certainly do — and I want nothing more than for the sport to continue to be more and more mainstream.”
Rabil and the Stealth are hoping to use this increased popularity to help grow the game’s presence in the Northwest as well as the franchise’s.
“I’ve talked extensively (with members of the Stealth) on just ways to promote the Stealth and promote our brand,” Rabil said, adding that the use of social media and involvement with youth camps and charities are some potential aspects.
“We’re pretty excited about it (the long-term deal),” Locker said. “It keeps him here for the foreseeable future, it keeps him active in raising the visibility of the organization.”
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