The X-Men: 10 high school boys lacrosse players who excel at faceoffs

It all starts with possession.

Having a standout at the faceoff X can mean so much for a high school boys lacrosse team.

Take South Side two years ago. Michael Melkonian went 130-20 at the X over seven playoff games, which went great with an overall talented team. In related news, the Cyclones were state champs that season.

There are FOGO — Face Off, Get Off — specialists and there are those who remain on the field and continue to contribute in other ways as well.

Here’s just a sampling of 10 to watch among the many good ones at the X on Long Island:

JJ Damo, Farmingdale, Sr.

Damo’s junior season came with 192 wins out of 292 faceoffs — 65.8% — and that gave him 452 career wins. Coach Eric Dunne values the LIU commit’s ability to give “his team a major possession advantage in critical moments.” He lauded Damo’s “composure, competitiveness and elite technique” and called him “one of the most reliable specialists in the region.”

Ethan Goldberg, Roslyn, Sr.

Goldberg had a 78% win rate on faceoffs in his junior season, going 195-55. Coach Jesse Sorensen described the Richmond commit as “a special player” and “a master technician,” adding, “He has been training with the best faceoff coaches in the world for many years. He knows every move and every counter. Every decision he makes in life is about how to become a better, more effective lacrosse player, which is why he's going to one of the best schools in the country next year.”

Robert Johnson, St. Anthony’s, Sr.

Despite missing nearly all of last season, Johnson is ranked 27th regardless of position and tops among the faceoff guys on the Class of 2026 national recruit list by Inside Lacrosse. Coach Keith Wieczorek praised the North Carolina commit for his quickness and athleticism, and noted that he has “great acceleration on ground balls [and is] very good at adjusting and figuring [an] opponent out.”

Braeden Kehoe, Mepham, Sr.

Kehoe was successful 246 times at the X as a junior, winning at a 72.6% clip, and he scored seven goals and scooped up 153 ground balls. Coach Ryan Walsh called the Iona commit “a very valuable member of the team” with his ability to get the Pirates extra possessions and added that he’s “always working on his craft and is always a threat to push the ball in transition to give the team a spark.”

Andrew Laviano, Kings Park, Sr.

Laviano set three Kingsmen records last season — 255 faceoffs won, 71% faceoff win rate and 237 ground balls — for a team that took the first Suffolk championship in program history. This season, the UMass Lowell commit is also starting on attack. Coach Tom Nally thinks this highly of him: “In my opinion, [he’s] the top faceoff guy in the county.”

Tommy Massaro, Mount Sinai, Jr.

Massaro is no FOGO. He remains on the field and often scores, delivering 85 goals combined over the past two seasons. But the Rutgers commit is one of Long Island’s finest at the X. He won 77.4% of his faceoffs as a sophomore, going 254-74. Coach Harold Drumm noted that the hard-working Massaro “trains all year long with private lessons from top college and pro FOGOs.”

George Mavlios, Chaminade, Sr.

Mavlios is a first-year starter for the Flyers, but coach Greg Kay feels he “should be one of the top faceoff specialists.” He added that the Rutgers commit “excels on the draw but is also a threat on offense and very strong defensively.”

Alec Notaro, South Side, Jr.

Notaro won 238 of his 391 faceoffs as a sophomore, a victory rate of 60.9%. Coach Steve DiPietro called the Marquette commit “one of the top faceoff players in [Nassau],” praising his “great instincts” and his ability to “win in a variety of ways.”

Brady Shaw, Babylon, Sr.

Shaw, who’s bound for Franklin & Marshall, won 70% of the time at the X last season. Coach John Greaney labeled him as “one of the best faceoff guys in Suffolk this year” and feels the Panthers “will go as far as he goes.”

CJ Siegler, Bellmore JFK, Jr.

Siegler dominated in this category as a sophomore with an 85.7% win rate, going 197-33. The LIU commit pours a lot of work into this, training regularly with pros. According to coach Gerard Cunningham, “He kept us in games solely based on possession time because it was almost a guarantee that we were getting the ball after a [faceoff].”