Neither Syracuse’s Zack Vehar nor Virginia’s Jason Murphy could take control at the faceoff X. As the ball dribbled out to the enclosing wings, Mike Messina found himself surrounded by three navy UVA jerseys.

But he sidestepped his opponents, swiftly picked up the ball and escaped into Syracuse’s side of the field.

“Our job mainly is just to let him know where we are on the field when he gets into a stalemate with the other guy,” Messina said of SU faceoff specialist Ben Williams. “Let him know where he could put the ball and stuff like that. It gives us an opportunity to get the ball.”

And the wings — made up primarily of Messina, Peter Macartney and Scott Firman — have done their job well for No. 1 Syracuse through its 4-0 start to the season. Messina has picked up 16 ground balls, three more than all of last season, while Macartney and Firman have combined for 21 more. On the season Syracuse has secured 55 more ground balls than its opponents and its wings credited their communication with Williams for the improved numbers.

And Williams, who has started the season by winning 62-of-86 faceoffs, has made a point on several occasions to credit his wings as well.

“I was on the ground a couple times and saw the ball bouncing around and they swooped through and picked up some really good ground balls,” Williams said of his 21-of-25 performance against Army on Feb. 22. “And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Wow. I can’t believe it. That’s impressive.’ … Ground balls win games.”

Macartney said that before the faceoff, all three are communicating around the X about where the other wings are, where their opponent is and who will guard against the fast break in the event that Syracuse doesn’t win the faceoff. The purpose is to keep Williams aware of what’s going on around him when his focus is on capturing the ball.

Their job is also to box out the other wings so Williams has space to make a play and gain total control of the ball. Messina said that Williams is better than Chris Daddio was last season at getting the ball to different places because he’s quicker and more athletic.

“It’s trying to keep Ben aware, because he’s got his head down the whole time,” Macartney said. “It’s keeping Ben aware of where the open space is.”

Last season Syracuse picked up 25 fewer ground balls than its opponents. The year before that, SU grabbed 21 fewer. This season, though, Syracuse has flipped that script, and has made it a staple of a team that — as of Monday — is ranked as the nation’s best.

But those years, Daddio, a statistically far less efficient specialist, was the primary guy at the X. In those years, the faceoff game was different, and specialists were less prone to running out with the ball. But now, Messina says, his job is more about precise timing.

And so far this season, Messina and the rest that unit have been an integral part of Syracuse’s success.

“The faceoff X, a lot people think is an individual position,” Williams said. “But it’s a three-man game.”

Published on March 4, 2015 at 12:20 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3