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Johnny Richiusa thinks better in slow motion. In games, Richiusa must be “whistle ready” and move as fast as possible at the faceoff X to win the initial clamp. But during the summers when he attended Penfield High School, Richiusa had all the time in the world. 

He went through every single part — kneeling down, clamping and exiting — slowly. If something needed to be fixed, he could analyze it and correct it. 

“No matter what it is in life, sometimes you need to slow it down to see what you’re doing wrong,” Richiusa said. “You have to be adaptable.”

Now, Richiusa is at Syracuse after transferring from Canisius College, taking over for Jakob Phaup as the new faceoff specialist. He’s had some struggles against tougher nonconference squads, but he’s solidified the role as his own and is improving his play ahead of conference competition.  

In seventh grade, Sunday became Richiusa’s favorite day. Penfield head coach John Schembri designated Sunday mornings for faceoffs and goalie work because there was barely any extra time to hone in on those areas during the week.

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Richiusa didn’t like the 7 a.m. wake-up, but Schembri said his skills were special. Richiusa said some of the seniors in the program looked like “giants” when he first started, but getting to hold his own against those players in Sunday practices gave him a “huge confidence boost.”

Schembri was a faceoff specialist himself, mentoring Richiusa since the third grade. Richiusa said that the style of the faceoff has shifted a lot from when Schembri played, but the “see the ball get the ball mentality” that Schembri preached was still the focal point for a faceoff specialist. 

Still, Schembri said a lot of players can be “pigheaded,” meaning they don’t want to tweak their normal approach in the faceoff circle whenever they’re coached. Richiusa wasn’t like that. 

“He’s very good at changing things up if it’s not working for him,” Schembri said. “And in the moment, too. Throughout the course of a game, he’s not afraid to modify his stance, not afraid to modify what he’s doing.”

Richiusa ended his career at Penfield with the school’s all-time record in faceoff percentage. Schembri said he dominated in every single game he played in. So, during the offseasons, Richiusa sought out the best competition he could find to improve his game.

“We just gave him an opportunity to come in and he did the work on his own,” Schembri said.

Rochester and its surrounding suburbs are a hotbed for faceoff talent, Richiusa said. In the summer, Schembri would invite some of the area’s top players to work out with Richiusa. He battled against players like UAlbany’s Regan Endres and John Hopkins’ Logan Callahan. Richiusa still trains with Callahan five to six days a week when he’s back home. 

“Going against the best people in my area allowed me to get better and learn to correct myself,” Richiusa said. 

The pride of Rochester’s faceoff community is TD Ierlan, who was a volunteer assistant coach at SU last year and holds the NCAA all-time record for faceoff percentage. Richiusa developed a relationship with Ierlan, learning from him and other local faceoff specialists in high school. 

Before Richiusa knew Ierlan, he watched him. Richiusa watched YouTube clips of all the best players growing up, adding little parts from each person’s game to his own. He didn’t plagiarize any player’s style exactly because every player’s faceoff style is unique to them like a basketball player’s shooting form, Richiusa said. 

“Faceoffs are very unique in that you have to do what’s comfortable for yourself,” Richiusa said. “You can’t just copy another guy.”

The biggest changes for Richiusa were technical. The way his right hand curls over the ball for an initial clamp was something that he improved year after year.

“The more you do it, the more you win, the more comfortable you get in lacrosse,” Richiusa said. 

Over time, Richiusa also started to excel at exiting the ball, Schembri said. Richiusa started to feel pressure without seeing it. He started to understand leverage and how it helped in deciding where he should poke the ball out to. At Syracuse, volunteer assistant coach Nick Acquaviva has seen that skill come to fruition. 

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“He’s very multiple in the way he exits with the ball and he does a really good job of mixing things up,” Acquaviva said. 

Richiusa struggled against Maryland, going 7-for-31. But just a few days later against UAlbany, he made the most of his earlier opportunities. 

In the first quarter, he lost five faceoffs. But in the third quarter, he won five straight. Head coach Gary Gait said postgame that the Orange could’ve lost if not for Richiusa’s run. 

“You can’t forget about the last one,” Richiusa said after losing a faceoff. “You just have to accept that the next one you’re going to take is a new opportunity to win the ball. Not being scared and not hesitating is the most important thing.”

Published on March 2, 2023 at 12:39 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu