It has become increasingly obvious over the last few years that faceoffs are becoming one of the most important facets of the modern game of lacrosse. Teams with a good faceoff guy can control the ball, get consecutive possessions, create fastbreak opportunities and–perhaps most importantly–reduce deficits in a much more efficient manner.
That was on display Saturday afternoon at Springfield College as the Pride came back from a 7-4 deficit against Western New England to take a 9-7 victory. Sure, the individual talent of some of SC’s attackers netted the goals, but its hard to look down the box score, see that Branden Fernandez won 15-of-19 faceoffs on the day, and not think that had anything to do with the comeback.
The actual play-by-play isn’t available on Springfield’s website, but I don’t think it would be going too far to assume that SC won every faceoff in the fourth quarter, and many of them led directly to goals. Fernandez is just the most recent in a string of talented faceoff guys that can be drawn back to the 2010 season and Mark Eaton.
Since 2010 coach Keith Bugbee and the Pride have showcased a dominant faceoff game that has kept them in most games and probably won them a few more. Eaton was a two-time Pilgrim League Player of the Year. Sean Doolady, last year’s injury fill-in for Fernandez, was on fire in the final game of the regular season that saw SC erase a 9-4 deficit against Babson for a 13-11 win.
Elsewhere, we see the effect that not having a consistent winner at the “X” can have.
St. Mary’s, who graduated a career 60 percent faceoff guy in Albert Mitchell last year, have been up and down not because of their attack or defense, but because their faceoff play hasn’t been up to snuff. The Seahawks have tried three guys, the best of which being Teddy Secor (17-for-33), but none have lived up to Mitchell’s consistency.
Goalies win games and defenses win championships, but if I have a good faceoff guy heading into the fourth quarter trailing by a couple goals, I feel like I have a shot at this.
Ground Balls
- As always, I encourage you to check out this week’s Players of the Week and USILA Poll. Always some good stuff going on there.
- The only teams in the USILA top 20 (this week) who lost last week were the aforementioned Seahawks and Gettysburg. Both teams hung on to places in the top 20 but it feels like water is starting to find its level across the board. The top six isn’t going anywhere and I would even include Washington College and Denison—No. 7 and 8, respectively—in that conversation. Springfield, Wesleyan and Endicott could all be in the mix, but cracking that top six-to-eight will be a tough task.
- Six NESCAC teams picked up votes in this week’s poll while three actually showed up in the rankings. Tufts and Wesleyan lead the way at No. 4 and 10, respectively, while Bowdoin comes in at No. 18. Colby, Middlebury, and Conn College all got votes and I wouldn’t rule out Amherst from picking up some recognition before the year is out. Such a deep league.
- Which league is deeper than the NESCAC, you ask? Why that would be the Capital Athletic Conference which placed four teams in the top 20. Salisbury, York, St. Mary’s and Mary Washington all rep the South’s deepest league. Pool C beware of these two conferences.
