With the season coming to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect back and recognize some of the players that stood out this season. When the Lizards made the blockbuster trade that brought Paul Rabil to play alongside Rob Pannell, fans were already claiming the Lizards would capture their third Steinfeld Cup. One aspect that sometimes goes under the radar but always plays a huge factor in determining the victor is the faceoffs. Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian has excelled at the faceoffs and therefore deserves the recognition as the best Faceoff Athlete in Major League Lacrosse.
This season, to no one’s surprise, Gurenlian has been a huge factor in the Lizards’ march toward the playoffs. It is almost unheard of that a team wins over half the faceoffs in every game, but Greg won 14 out of 22 faceoffs against the Ohio Machine on April 12, 2015 and he hasn’t looked back. “The Beast” continued his dominating performance throughout the season, winning over half of the faceoffs in each game. Some of his best performances came against the Florida Launch on June 5 when he won 27 of 31 faceoffs and the Chesapeake Bayhawks on July 2 when he won 24 of 30 faceoffs. The only time this season Gurenlian won less than half the faceoffs was last week against the Ohio Machine, taking only 10 of 26 faceoffs. Greg has already broken the record for the most faceoff wins in a season (249) that Alex Smith set in 2008 and is on track to break the season record for highest win percentage in season (64 percent), a record he set in 2013.
Gurenlian has started a revolution that has changed the role of the FOGO player. For him, the faceoff guy should do more than just faceoffs. In fact, he hates the term FOGO, because it refers to a “face off and get off” player. Greg wants to contribute offensively and defensively, and he has done so this season. On offense, “The Beast” has scored one goal and assisted on three others. On defense, he has picked up 167 ground balls. He has certainly changed the ideal type of faceoff athlete for the better.
Of course, dominating the faceoffs has been something Greg has done since his college days. Gurenlian played collegiate lacrosse at Pennsylvania State University and finished his career as a Nittany Lion as the leader in all-time faceoff wins in Penn State history and also ranked second in career ground balls. He started his professional career with the Rochester Rattlers for two years before joining the San Francisco Dragons until the Dragons disbanded in 2009.
With the retirement of Peter Vlahakis in 2009, the Long Island Lizards, as they were known back then, were in need of a faceoff guy, and they believed Gurenlian was that guy. The Lizards selected “The Beast” in the fifth round of the 2010 Supplemental Draft. Gurenlian’s career with the Lizards got off to a rocky start, only winning 84 faceoffs in 2010 and 35 in three games in 2011 before attaining a season-ending knee surgery.
2012 was a turnaround year for Greg. He won 230 faceoffs and picked up 124 ground balls, second-most in a season. In addition, Greg scored four goals and assisted on three. 2013 saw the same performance from Gurenlian, but this time he won 63 percent of his faceoffs, which became the highest faceoff win percentage in a season. “The Beast” continued his dominance in 2014, winning 201 faceoffs and he was recognized for his performance with the inaugural MLL FOGO of the Year award.
So what’s left for “The Beast” to accomplish? Well, adding a Steinfeld Cup would enhance his resumé. Winning another MLL FOGO of the Year award certainly would add to his legacy. Also, if he continues winning half of the faceoffs next season, Gurenlian will own the career faceoff wins record. He will own the ground balls career record as well within the next season or two. For these reasons, it should be no contest that Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian is the best Faceoff Athlete in Major League Lacrosse.
