ASHDOD, ISRAEL — Alon Bechor, Jake Levine and Jonathan Rathauser have been named franchise players for Ashdod LC.
The club, which finished 4-3 in 2016, will be coached by Hobart alum Arnie Mazer, a Tel Aviv resident who has been a member of the Israel Lacrosse family since 2014.
Bechor, an Ashdod native who represented Israel at the 2016 FIL U-19 World Championships, will see his first full season in the IPLL after missing most of last year in Vancouver. The 17-year-old midfielder scored four goals for Ashdod at January’s New Years Cup and also saw action for Israel in the European Box Invitational in Prague.
Levine is entering his Senior season at Delaware, where he has seen action in 12 games during his collegiate career, scoring three goals. The 22-year-old forward was a member of the 2014 Israel Lacrosse Birthright trip, and competed for Israel’s developmental team in Denver in 2014.
Rathauser is a veteran of the Israel program, appearing in every game for the blue-and-white’s defense at the 2014 World Championships in Denver and the 2016 European Championships in Budapest. He captained the Euro team, which finished second of 24 teams and won Israel’s first-ever medal. The 26-year-old defenseman splits time between Nairobi (Kenya) and Tel Aviv.
Ashdod opens their 2017 season in a neutral-site match against Kiryat Gat on July 20th at Tubruq Field in Netanya.