May 28, 2007

BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins junior midfielder Paul Rabil was a repeat selection as a First Team All-American and also picked up the McLaughlin Award as the nation's top midfielder at the annual All-America banquet Sunday morning. Rabil was one of five Blue Jays who earned All-America honors and was the only repeat first team selection.

Joining Rabil on the All-America team from Johns Hopkins were junior midfielder Stephen Peyser (third team), senior attackman Jake Byrne (honorable mention), freshman attackman Steven Boyle (honorable mention) and sophomore defenseman Michael Evans (honorable mention).

Rabil enters today's NCAA Championship game against Duke as the team's leading scorer with career highs of 26 goals, 21 assists and 47 points. He carries a 15-game scoring streak into the national championship game and has been particularly hot down the stretch as he has 15 goals and 13 assists in his last eight games.

Rabil, who also recently earned First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors, continues the long line of standout midfielders for the Blue Jays. His selection as a First Team All-American marks the sixth straight year and the ninth time in the last 10 years that Hopkins has produced a midfielder that earned first team honors. In addition, his selection as the McLaughlin Award winner marks the third time in the last four years that Hopkins has produced the recipient of this award as Kyle Harrison won the award in 2004 and 2005.

Peyser has been a key part of the team's resurgence in the second half of the season and has quietly put together a solid campaign. He currently ranks sixth on the team in scoring with 14 goals and nine assists, ranks as JHU's top faceoff specialist (97-of-155/.554) and leads the team in ground balls. He has won 61.2% (60-of-98) of his faceoffs during Hopkins' eight-game winning streak.

Byrne grabs All-America honors for the second time in his career (2005) as he has enjoyed the finest season of his career. He is currently tied for the team-lead in goals with a career-high 26 and his 32 points matches his career high. He has nine multi-point games on the year and enters the championship game with 74 goals and 36 assists for 110 points in his career.

Boyle is the first freshman attackman to earn All-America honors at Hopkins since Terry Riordan and Brian Piccola in 1992. He ranks second on the team in scoring with 22 goals and 13 assists and his 35 points are just two shy of the JHU freshman record under head coach Dave Pietramala (Paul Rabil-37). He registered at least one point in 14 straight games to open his career and has 10 multi-point games to his credit.

Evans made a smooth transition from short-stick defensive midfield to close defense and has anchored a unit that has steadily improved as the season has unfolded. The Blue Jays have held 13 of their 16 opponents to nine goals or less and have allowed a total of just nine goals in the last two games. The three goals allowed against Delaware is the fewest ever in an NCAA Semifinal game. Evans has started all 16 games and has 10 ground balls to his credit.