Saturday afternoon, Maryland men’s lacrosse faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen crouched low in the X, ready to translate a week of intense training into on-field success.
High Point’s Jack Marshall hunched over across Henningsen, hoping to prevent the preseason Honorable Mention All-American from avenging an embarrassing performance the weekend before.
When the whistle blew for the opening faceoff, Henningsen reacted first to win the ball. He fed attackman Matt Rambo, who scored just seven seconds into the contest.
After Rambo completed screaming and jabbing his fist in the air in celebration, he hugged Henningsen. But Henningsen was too busy pumping his stick over his head to notice the gesture.
The faceoff specialist struggled last weekend at Navy, going 7-for-22 in the X, so he felt relieved to bounce back in a 19-5 win over High Point. He went 13-for-17 on draws against the Panthers and recorded three points.
“If you can get a goal off a faceoff … that’s a huge shot in the arm,” coach John Tillman said. “They count as one, but the momentum you get is huge.”
Henningsen’s dominance caused High Point coach Jon Torpey to rotate between five different players in the X. Aside from specialist Brandon Savoie, who attempted just one draw, none of the Panthers cracked a 37.5 percent success rate.
In practice, the Terps’ faceoff specialists operate as a separate, tight-knit unit from the rest of the squad, honing their craft often at the edge of training. The group, which includes Henningsen, Curtis Corley, Will Bonaparte, Jon Garino and Alex Giovinco, calls itself the “Hawgpen.”
The unit makes “Hawgpen” t-shirts and runs an Instagram account with more than 1,000 followers, a testament to how it has become an independent force within the squad.
Because of their chemistry, the disappointing performance at Navy in the X motivated them to improve. So they looked to volunteer assistant coach Chris Mattes, a former All-American specialist at Rutgers, to push them in practice last week.
But rather than working exclusively on draws in training, Mattes helped members of the “Hawgpen” sharpen their attacking abilities through shooting drills.
Since faceoffs often result in ground balls, Tillman said, they present an opportunity to create transition offense. To take advantage of those chances, though, specialists must be able to drive the ball up the field to score or dish out assists.
Against High Point, Henningsen succeeded at turning draw wins into quick attacks, as he created or scored three times following faceoffs. Through three games, he has two goals and two helpers, a significant jump from last season when he registered just one goal and one assist in 16 contests.
“These guys have done a good job of trying to develop their offensive skills,” Tillman said. “They’ve worked on faceoff technique, but they’ve [also] been doing their shooting and stick work.”
Henningsen said returning to form against High Point was a result of the “Hawgpen” returning to what it does best — turning up training intensity and pushing one another to get better.
“It’s a good group of guys,” Henningsen said. “We just kind of collected each other, licked our wounds and got back to work.”
