5 boys lacrosse faceoff specialists to know (2024)

A one-on-one faceoff duel begins the play in high school boys lacrosse.

At game’s start or after a goal, the ball is placed on the ground and the faceoff specialists move into a down position, prepare their sticks and then get set, reacting when the referee blows the whistle.

Gaining control of the ball is the objective, using a variety of counters, exits and moves — including the clamp, reverse clamp and laser — as part of the strategy.

The faceoff winner might blaze downfield with the ball on a free run, looking to pass to an attacker or potentially firing his own shot on goal. Or the ball might go to a wing, lined up to the side of the faceoff specialists.

“Lacrosse is a team sport but there are a couple elements that are individual based,” Verona/Mount Horeb boys lacrosse coach Alex Kramer said. “At the faceoff dot, it’s really just you and the other guy. Sometimes, you can make it three-on-three with wing play, but a lot of the time, the really good players make it a one-on-one.”

Coaches look for scrappy athletes with wrestler body types or low centers of gravity, quick hands, grip strength, positive mental attitudes and strong IQs when seeking faceoff specialists. Some faceoff specialists leave the field after faceoffs, while others remain on offense.

“You need quick hands, good reaction time and you have to be smart,” Middleton coach Nate Lutterman said.

Sauk Prairie co-op coach Zach Lare likened the faceoff to a combination of wrestling and chess.

“It’s speed chess with physicality,” Lare said. “The critical thing is that quick twitch off the whistle. If you can’t win every faceoff clean because the other guy is quicker, you have to know what counters you are using right away. Over time, it’s developing a quick twitch and then having a couple counters off of that and being able to mix it up.”

As rules have changed over the years, so have strategies.

“The faceoff game used to be like a game of rock, papers, scissors,” Kramer said. “What people don’t see from the stands or on TV, there are a bunch of subtleties that happen in the game. It’s, honestly, more like a game of chess, where these guys are making little movements, no different than a (Mixed Martial Arts) wrestler, where technique is really important and body position is really important. So, those guys are really smart.”

The draw in high school girls lacrosse is different from the boys game, partly due to shallower pockets in the girls’ sticks and less contact permitted. The girls stand at the start and the ball often is popped into the air at the faceoff.

This is the first season the WIAA has sanctioned boys and girls lacrosse.

As the WIAA postseason gets in full swing, here are five boys lacrosse faceoff specialists in the area to know.

Mindset important for Oregon’s Israel Mikkelson

Israel Mikkelson, a Oregon senior, has committed to Washington and Lee University in Virginia and was recruited as a faceoff specialist.

“When he is healthy and ready to go, he’s a tier above everyone else in the state,” Oregon coach Tim Francis said. “He’s elite.”

Mikkelson's mindset is partly what separates him.

“The biggest thing is not getting in your own head so you are able to stay clear,” Mikkelson said. “So, when you go down (to take the faceoff), you aren’t thinking about the last play or what’s going to happen. I know that’s what helps me.

“I’m pretty carefree. I play free and relaxed. I might lose one faceoff, but it’s not the end of the world and you go out for the next one.”

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Mikkelson, who’s a midfielder and outstanding scorer, said he’s not as big as some opponents so he relies on his hand speed to control faceoffs. His foot speed then makes him a dangerous runner and attacker.

“I like to focus on the clamp,” he said. “But I’ve been trying to work on breaks and counters, too.”

Mikkelson said more faceoff information is available nowadays for coaches and players, including for scouting. That makes the task tougher.

“He just understands what to do on the faceoff,” Francis said. “If (the opponent) tries to counter, he’s good making adjustments. He has incredibly fast hands.”

Oregon, seeded fifth in its sectional, plays host to the 12th-seeded Wauwatosa West co-op Tuesday.

Madison Knights’ Ben Morrison Phillips embraces the grind

Ben Morrison Phillips, a Madison Memorial junior who plays for the Madison Edgewood co-op, started playing lacrosse in the fourth grade.

Morrison Phillips said maintaining a positive attitude is important to playing the position, as are physical qualities and a good work ethic.

“You need to have fast hands,” said Morrison Phillips, who also plays football and competes in wrestling. “It takes a lot of hours of practice. I only started faceoffs during my freshman year so it felt like I was playing catch-up. I put in a lot of work. It takes a lot of time grinding.”

His success leads to setting up the Madison Knights’ offense, even if he then comes off the field. He joked to his teammates after one game that he was extremely tired after running so much.

“It’s like short bursts,” he said. “It’s more like a 100-meter dash.”

The eighth-seeded Knights, coached by Mike Reiter, face the ninth-seeded Salem Westosha Central co-op Tuesday.

Adrian Millin steps into role for Waunakee

Waunakee sophom*ore Adrian Millin said speed and strength are of the essence.

“It’s really reaction time and strength and a lot of grit,” Millin said. “You need to be able to react to that whistle as fast as you can and get that clamp down. And you have to have a really strong clamp to win that clamp.”

Millin has seen a lot of time taking faceoffs in his first two seasons for the Warriors, who enter postseason undefeated and as the state’s top-ranked team. Waunakee senior attack player Gunnar McFadden said Millin does a good job winning faceoffs and taking off on a free run down the field, then looking to pass to attackers or taking a shot himself.

“Last year, coming into the program, we needed him to be a faceoff guy for us and coming in and learning as we go and accepting the role we gave him, I think he’s done a great job of that,” McFadden said. “Obviously, he had a lot of pressure last year as a freshman in the state championship game, he did a good job in a position he really wasn’t familiar with. ... And, this year, still being willing to do that for us, since we really don’t have a faceoff guy, I think he’s been awesome.”

Verona’s Kramer, who’s coached Millin outside high school season, said: “He’s a freak athlete, so it works out great. As long as you are scrappy and willing to fight, you can get a few wins.”

Top-seeded Waunakee plays host to the No. 17 Whitefish Bay co-op Tuesday.

Middleton’s Will O’Brien focuses on the mental game

Middleton senior Will O’Brien, who’s played lacrosse seven or eight years, sees faceoffs as an independent battle.

“It’s really kind of just you out there,” O’Brien said. “I know you have your wings, but that initial clamp, it’s just you and the other guy. You have to stay strong. It’s more of a mental game than anything.

“If you lose a couple, you can get really down on yourself. So, staying with a good, positive attitude so that you can keep going strong throughout the whole game is pretty important.”

In a recent game against Oregon, Mikkelson got the better of O’Brien on the opening two faceoffs as the Panthers took the early lead. But Lutterman said O’Brien improved as the game went on.

“Will made a lot of adjustments,” Lutterman said.

O’Brien, who plans to attend UW-La Crosse, said he changed his tactics so that Oregon wouldn’t get fast breaks off the faceoff.

“I always do enjoy the challenge, especially against Israel,” O’Brien said. “We played summers together, so it’s a little more personal. … I started with the normal moves, the normal clamp. He started to get the best of me, so I tried to change it up and played a little more defensively then.”

Third-seeded Middleton plays the 14th-seeded Franklin co-op Tuesday.

Owen Lang has built a faceoff foundation

Owen Lang, a junior for the Verona/Mount Horeb team, has played lacrosse for eight or nine years, including seven years as a faceoff specialist.

“I’d say a lot of (what makes Lang good) is how much time he spends on it outside of practice, working to improve his game,” said Wildcats assistant Patrick Stigsell, who works with the team’s faceoff players. “I think that really benefits him, and the amount of time he puts into lacrosse outside the spring high school season. I think it adds to a lot of his success, as does watching a lot of film, too, and modeling his game after other college guys and pro guys.”

Lang said he found during initial faceoff scraps that he had the ability for it and honed his ability through repetitions.

He said it helped that he had good reflexes, strength, hand speed and the ability to move his body quickly. In addition, his leg strength from playing hockey aided him on faceoffs.

Lang, who prefers to use the regular, forward clamp, said he has different exit strategies, depending on the opponent. The laser move, where the intent is to roll the ball out of the faceoff, is among his repertoire of moves, although he doesn’t use it often.

Lang, who's eager for postseason, has been pleased that lacrosse became a WIAA sport.

“It’s just a bigger moment,” Lang said. “Since it’s the first year, there’s been a lot of hype. It just means so much more to be a winning team this year.”

No. 7-seed Verona/Mount Horeb plays the 10th-seeded Waukesha West co-op Tuesday.

The boys and girls state championships are scheduled June 8 at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field.