VMI Lacrosse history was made on Friday, January 13 as standout Stephen Robarge was selected as the No. 44 pick in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft.

The Keydet senior was selected by the Denver Outlaws in the sixth round as the 44th overall pick. The Outlaws came into existence in the league for the 2006 season. Robarge becomes the first VMI lacrosse player selected in the MLL draft. The 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Face-off Specialist of the Year was the only player from the MAAC to be drafted from the conference.

A Preseason All-America Honorable Mention Selection, Robarge will take face-offs for head coach Jim Stagnitta, former Rutgers University head coach. The Outlaws begin their 2012 quest for their first league title, heading on the road to league newcomer Charlotte Hounds.

When Robarge reports to the Outlaws following the 2012 VMI season, he will compete at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.

Robarge, who will serve as a team captain during the upcoming season, finished the 2011 season as the best faceoff specialists in the country. Over the course of the Keydets’ 13 games, Robarge went 205-of-306 in face-offs, winning at a blistering 67.0 percent pace.

Robarge scooped up 132 balls last season and was the nation’s leader in groundballs per game. The Lorton, Va. native hoovered 10.15 groundballs per game, nearly a full groundball more than the second place finisher.

Behind Robarge, the Keydets finished first in the country in team groundballs per game, averaging 39.62 an outing, besting 2011 National Champion, the University of Virginia, which finished third at 36.83 per game.

For his efforts in 2011, Robarge was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Face-Off Specialist of the Year and was selected by the league’s coaches All-MAAC Second Team. This past December, Robarge was named Inside Lacrosse’s Preseason All-America list as an honorable mention, one of only three MAAC players to land on the list.

In just three seasons with the Keydets, Robarge has already landed in the VMI lacrosse record book several times, including the program’s all-time groundball getter, grabbing up 288 in just three years. He holds the top two single-season groundball records, setting the mark at 124 in 2010 before eclipsing his own mark the next season with 132.

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