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Marist College and head coach Keegan Wilkinson are making their mark on Long Island.

After landing a commitment early last week from rising senior Billy Andrle of East Meadow High School, the Red Foxes picked up another big verbal from a Long Island defender this past season, as first reported at Twitter.com/Joe_Lombardi.

Wantagh High School (N.Y.) rising junior Ralph Sommer is the latest LI standout who will be heading to college in Poughkeepsie,

Sommer is a rangy defender with good size and speed known for getting groundballs.

Now, here’s a Q&A with Ralph on his commitment.

What were the main factors in your decision?
I had a short list of colleges that I liked and wanted to visit. Marist was one of those schools. Marist has a great campus and after speaking with Coach Wilkinson during a visit I knew the school and their style of play was a perfect fit for me.

What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I was considering Marquette and Binghamton, but Hofstra and Marist were the two schools that I really liked best. I did a prospect camp at Hofstra and made a visit to West Point. We were going to plan a visit to Binghamton but I decided on Marist.

What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
My size and mobility definitely gives me an advantage when I’m fighting for a groundball and I have a pretty good stick. I like hitting and the body checks. I am a close defenseman and like the physical play .

What area of your game do you need to work on?
You can never be too fast. The game is getting faster and faster and I will always be working hard on my speed and agility to improve my footwork.

How did you get introduced to lacrosse and what other sports have you played?
A lot of my friends from pee wee football joined the PAL lacrosse team. It was pretty much the entire football team played lacrosse in the spring together. We played together from 8 years old and some of us still play together now. I’ve been playing football since I was 7 years old and play a little basketball.

What travel team do you play on what showcase events did you participate in?
I have been playing for the Long Island Jesters the past 2 summers. We did the Philly Showcase, NYLA, LiLaxfest and I made top 100 in the Under Armour tryout.

Any final thoughts?
Obviously I want to thank my parents for spending their weekends and summers going from field to field with me. I have been lucky enough to have had great coaches from day one. Thanks to my first lax coach Ed Gambitsky who taught me the fundamentals of the game and how to play defense. I am also looking forward to the next 2 seasons playing for Coach Cuiffo and Coach Moriarity.