Episode 282. Paul Rabil – American Professional Lacrosse Player
Paul Rabil is a Lebanese-American professional lacrosse player with the Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and former player of the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse and the recent founder of a new professional lacrosse organization, the Premier Lacrosse League. He attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, and played collegiate lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University.
Paul was selected 1st overall by the Boston Cannons in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. That year, he also competed in the MLL All-Star Game.
In 2009, Paul was named the MLL MVP and MLL Offensive Player of the Year.
In 2010, Paul competed in his third consecutive All-Star team and was named First-Team All-Pro.
In 2011, Paul was named the MLL MVP and MLL Offensive Player of the Year for the second time. He also won the MLL Bud Light Skills Competition in 2011, making him the first player to have won both the Skills Competition and the MLL Fastest Shot competition. Many have named him the best lacrosse player in the world.
In 2012, he was declared the MLL Offensive Player of the Year for the third time, tying the league record for most season-ending awards by a player. He also set the single-season points record (72) while playing midfield for the Boston Cannons.[4]
In 2014, he was named to his seventh consecutive All-Star team and named MLL First-Team All-Pro for the sixth consecutive year.
On January 5, 2015, Paul was traded to the New York Lizards, along with fellow midfielder Mike Stone for veteran Max Seibald and draft picks.
Paul played in and started 12 out of the 14 regular season games. He had 24 goals, 15 assists, and three two-point goals in the regular season. On August 1, 2015, he had two goals and two assists in a semifinal playoff games against the Boston Cannons. New York would win in overtime 16-15. On August 8, 2015, Paul had three goals and three assists as the Lizards defeated the Rochester Rattlers 15-12 in the MLL Steinfeld Cup Championship game. This made Paul a two time Steinfeld Cup Champion as he finished off the season with a total of 29 goals and 20 assists. He was named the Coca-Cola Player of the Game MVP of the championship.