The Thunder took an offensive approach to yesterday's National Lacrosse League draft, selecting college attackmen with four of its seven picks.

But the Thunder shored up its goalkeeping first, picking Virginia goalkeeper Chris Sanderson with the No. 4 selection overall. The Thunder, which didn't have a first-round pick heading into the draft, acquired the first-round selection by trading Chris Panos, its fourth-leading scorer, to Buffalo.

The Thunder then looked exclusively for offense, taking Princeton's Jesse Hubbard in the second round, Maryland's Matt Hahn in the third, Johns Hopkins' Dudley Dixon in the fourth and Maryland's Andrew Whipple in the fifth.

In the sixth round, defender Brian Reese, a Maryland and St. Paul's School graduate, was selected by the Thunder. With its last pick, the Thunder took Hopkins midfielder A. T. Bailey.

In a move not involving the draft yesterday, the Thunder traded goalkeeper Derek Collins and forward Jeff Klodzen to Syracuse for goalkeeper Marty O'Neill and forward Rodney Tapp. O'Neill had a 1-6 record with an 18.29 goals-against average last year.

Rochester opened the draft by picking Casey Powell, a two-time Player of the Year from Syracuse University. Loyola College defenseman Jamie Hanford also went in the first round, selected sixth by Philadelphia.

Pub Date: 9/23/98