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Danny Brennan is gone. Who will step up to win faceoffs?
By Matthew Ehalt
Posted: 2/12/09, 1:53 AM EST Section: Lacrosse Guide 2009
In the final game of the season against Colgate last year, Syracuse men's lacrosse head coach John Desko experienced life without Danny Brennan in the faceoff X.
Brennan, who helped lead the Orange to a national title last season, won an impressive 214 out of 321 faceoffs last season, or exactly every 2 out of 3 battles inside the X. He was considered the best in the nation at faceoffs.
Desko watched on that day as Colgate won 17-of-25 battles in the X and ultimately won the game, 12-11.
Every game this season will be as it was against Colgate, without Brennan - and it's leaving the coach a little nervous.
"It's a concern for us, and we want to see who's going to step up for us," Desko said before his team's opening scrimmages. "We had a lot of guys go up against Danny in practice last year, so I think that's going to help us, but Danny did dominate in practice last year, so we'll learn more about our faceoff guys and that's probably the biggest concern we have."
With the first regular-season faceoff rapidly approaching, Desko will have to try and find the best replacement for Brennan. He said it may come through one main faceoff man, or through using the best man for the matchup against the given opponent.
Here's a breakdown of four of the top candidates to line up for the faceoffs during the 2009 season for the Orange: senior Jake Moulton, junior Josh Knight, and sophomores Tim Harder and Jovan Miller.
Jake Moulton
Moulton enters the season as the candidate most likely to be in the X when the season begins Sunday against Providence. As expected, this brings pressure for the senior - knowing he must try and replace Brennan's production while fending off the competition.
"I know I got to perform," Moulton said. "I know there are guys at my heels that want to face off, too, so I got to perform or let someone else do it, so I take that and try and run with it and try and be good with it."
Assistant coach Kevin Donahue said Moulton is leading the pack because he's been the best during practice and because he's a good defensive and all-around player. He especially complimented him after his performance in the opening scrimmage against Le Moyne and Hofstra.
Last season, Moulton won 11-of-35 faceoffs. He uses what he calls a "motorcycle grip," where has both hands forward and he plunges the ball down, similar to a hard clamp. He calls himself more of a grip guy, which he says most guys aren't.
Moulton also says he works well in transitioning from getting the ball forward and getting the fast break working well so he can hit the attack and try and set up the offense.
Though he may be the favorite now, he knows that could change quickly.
"You know you're out there practicing and you work hard, and it doesn't get to be too much," Moulton said. "I go out there I do my thing I try and win all the faceoffs and if someone beats me, it's their day, and I try and make it my day every day."
Josh Knight
Knight only had three chances to take faceoffs last season, and in that limited time on the field, he tried to adapt to the speed of the game. He said he learned a lot watching Brennan and John Carrozza work at the X and is looking forward to his chance to do such this season.
"No one can really replace Danny, the No. 1 guy in the nation," Knight said. "If I can come close to him this year, it will be awesome, but there's a lot of great competition between everybody here. We're all pushing each other to try and get what Danny got last year, so it's been good."
Donahue said Knight has worked hard in the faceoff and he will be getting some reps early. He also said that Knight has imitated Brennan's moves in the X better than others this season.
As Knight describes it, it's a power clamp move where he throws his hand to the ground and uses his body for power because he is of a bigger size at 6-foot, 209 pounds. He describes himself as the power one in the group, compared to Moulton who, he says is a quicker player.
The different styles helps the competition foster.
"There's pressure because all of us here want to be on the field and play and win a championship," Knight said. "We're all cheering for each other because when one guy goes to take a faceoff, we're on the side waiting to see what happens. He comes off and then we tell him why he won, why he lost, and we can all improve as group and become better as a group."
Tim Harder
Harder is the only of the four to not have any playing time in the X last year.
Like the others, he tried to spend his time watching Brennan and the other faceoff men to try and learn their communication with the coaches and the other players on the field. He also tried to get little nuggets of information whenever he could.
"He's was the best faceoff guy I've ever been around," Harder said of Brennan. "I just tried to pick his brain along the way and tried to have him work with me and tweak my move here and there, along with Coach. He was pretty much like another coach out there.
Harder said he uses a clamp move and then tries and incorporates that into other moves the coaches have him work on. He also said he has readjusted his stance and anticipating what his opponent will do and how to adjust what is happening.
He believes the competition will only benefit the candidates.
"It's been real healthy, really competitive everyday," Harder said. "It's just an absolute battle out there. Since we're pretty familiar with each other, every day another guy emerges on top, which doesn't make the coach's job easier, but I think in the long run it's going to make us better.
Jovan Miller
Miller's unique skill sets allow him to take the faceoffs this season and play both offense and defense. Though others may strictly play offense or defense, Miller can go both ways with the stick. This provides an advantage for utilizing him in game situations that he is looking forward to.
"I have to say, it's something that I always expected from myself," Miller said. "So it's nothing that I can't handle. I want to be out there in every situation, so faceoffs is just one more thing."
Miller said the coaches have told him he will be everywhere this season, using his skill set to create mismatches. He will spend time on offense, defense and the faceoff, and Donahue said Miller's athleticism will make a difference in winning faceoffs. Last season, Miller won 6-of-10 faceoffs.
Competing against Brennan last season in practice, Miller said he didn't try last year because he knew the nation's best faceoff man would always win. But he learned how to get closer to the ball and jump the whistles from working with Brennan.
He knows the task of replacing Brennan won't be easy.
"It's just going to be hard because, you gotta look at Dan, as he's been doing it for four years," Miller said. "He was on the field for four years. It wasn't like he worked his way onto the field for four years. He was on the field, he was out there starting."
mrehalt@syr.edu
Brennan, who helped lead the Orange to a national title last season, won an impressive 214 out of 321 faceoffs last season, or exactly every 2 out of 3 battles inside the X. He was considered the best in the nation at faceoffs.
Desko watched on that day as Colgate won 17-of-25 battles in the X and ultimately won the game, 12-11.
Every game this season will be as it was against Colgate, without Brennan - and it's leaving the coach a little nervous.
"It's a concern for us, and we want to see who's going to step up for us," Desko said before his team's opening scrimmages. "We had a lot of guys go up against Danny in practice last year, so I think that's going to help us, but Danny did dominate in practice last year, so we'll learn more about our faceoff guys and that's probably the biggest concern we have."
With the first regular-season faceoff rapidly approaching, Desko will have to try and find the best replacement for Brennan. He said it may come through one main faceoff man, or through using the best man for the matchup against the given opponent.
Here's a breakdown of four of the top candidates to line up for the faceoffs during the 2009 season for the Orange: senior Jake Moulton, junior Josh Knight, and sophomores Tim Harder and Jovan Miller.
Jake Moulton
Moulton enters the season as the candidate most likely to be in the X when the season begins Sunday against Providence. As expected, this brings pressure for the senior - knowing he must try and replace Brennan's production while fending off the competition.
"I know I got to perform," Moulton said. "I know there are guys at my heels that want to face off, too, so I got to perform or let someone else do it, so I take that and try and run with it and try and be good with it."
Assistant coach Kevin Donahue said Moulton is leading the pack because he's been the best during practice and because he's a good defensive and all-around player. He especially complimented him after his performance in the opening scrimmage against Le Moyne and Hofstra.
Last season, Moulton won 11-of-35 faceoffs. He uses what he calls a "motorcycle grip," where has both hands forward and he plunges the ball down, similar to a hard clamp. He calls himself more of a grip guy, which he says most guys aren't.
Moulton also says he works well in transitioning from getting the ball forward and getting the fast break working well so he can hit the attack and try and set up the offense.
Though he may be the favorite now, he knows that could change quickly.
"You know you're out there practicing and you work hard, and it doesn't get to be too much," Moulton said. "I go out there I do my thing I try and win all the faceoffs and if someone beats me, it's their day, and I try and make it my day every day."
Josh Knight
Knight only had three chances to take faceoffs last season, and in that limited time on the field, he tried to adapt to the speed of the game. He said he learned a lot watching Brennan and John Carrozza work at the X and is looking forward to his chance to do such this season.
"No one can really replace Danny, the No. 1 guy in the nation," Knight said. "If I can come close to him this year, it will be awesome, but there's a lot of great competition between everybody here. We're all pushing each other to try and get what Danny got last year, so it's been good."
Donahue said Knight has worked hard in the faceoff and he will be getting some reps early. He also said that Knight has imitated Brennan's moves in the X better than others this season.
As Knight describes it, it's a power clamp move where he throws his hand to the ground and uses his body for power because he is of a bigger size at 6-foot, 209 pounds. He describes himself as the power one in the group, compared to Moulton who, he says is a quicker player.
The different styles helps the competition foster.
"There's pressure because all of us here want to be on the field and play and win a championship," Knight said. "We're all cheering for each other because when one guy goes to take a faceoff, we're on the side waiting to see what happens. He comes off and then we tell him why he won, why he lost, and we can all improve as group and become better as a group."
Tim Harder
Harder is the only of the four to not have any playing time in the X last year.
Like the others, he tried to spend his time watching Brennan and the other faceoff men to try and learn their communication with the coaches and the other players on the field. He also tried to get little nuggets of information whenever he could.
"He's was the best faceoff guy I've ever been around," Harder said of Brennan. "I just tried to pick his brain along the way and tried to have him work with me and tweak my move here and there, along with Coach. He was pretty much like another coach out there.
Harder said he uses a clamp move and then tries and incorporates that into other moves the coaches have him work on. He also said he has readjusted his stance and anticipating what his opponent will do and how to adjust what is happening.
He believes the competition will only benefit the candidates.
"It's been real healthy, really competitive everyday," Harder said. "It's just an absolute battle out there. Since we're pretty familiar with each other, every day another guy emerges on top, which doesn't make the coach's job easier, but I think in the long run it's going to make us better.
Jovan Miller
Miller's unique skill sets allow him to take the faceoffs this season and play both offense and defense. Though others may strictly play offense or defense, Miller can go both ways with the stick. This provides an advantage for utilizing him in game situations that he is looking forward to.
"I have to say, it's something that I always expected from myself," Miller said. "So it's nothing that I can't handle. I want to be out there in every situation, so faceoffs is just one more thing."
Miller said the coaches have told him he will be everywhere this season, using his skill set to create mismatches. He will spend time on offense, defense and the faceoff, and Donahue said Miller's athleticism will make a difference in winning faceoffs. Last season, Miller won 6-of-10 faceoffs.
Competing against Brennan last season in practice, Miller said he didn't try last year because he knew the nation's best faceoff man would always win. But he learned how to get closer to the ball and jump the whistles from working with Brennan.
He knows the task of replacing Brennan won't be easy.
"It's just going to be hard because, you gotta look at Dan, as he's been doing it for four years," Miller said. "He was on the field for four years. It wasn't like he worked his way onto the field for four years. He was on the field, he was out there starting."
mrehalt@syr.edu
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