Saturday's second semi sees two of the country's best face-off men doing battle
Technically, his elbow isn't broken, John Glynn said. It's just fractured.
Cornell's face-off specialist has gotten used to it. He's had it since late March. Which means that every time he's out-leveraged somebody, every time he's forklifted somebody else's stick off the ground or completely out of his hands, he's done it with faulty parts.
"It's not the prettiest position, but someone's gotta do it," Glynn said.
"I saw that he's got a cast on - he's tough as hell," said Virginia face-off specialist Chad Gaudet, shaking his head.
When Virginia and Cornell meet at in the second D-I semifinal at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, it'll be a game that features two of the game's best face-off men. Playing one of the most uniquely essential and massively unheralded jobs in all of sports, Cornell's Glynn and Virginia's Gaudet - both post-grads - represent two of the biggest reasons why their teams are still alive.
Technically, his elbow isn't broken, John Glynn said. It's just fractured.
Cornell's face-off specialist has gotten used to it. He's had it since late March. Which means that every time he's out-leveraged somebody, every time he's forklifted somebody else's stick off the ground or completely out of his hands, he's done it with faulty parts.
"It's not the prettiest position, but someone's gotta do it," Glynn said.
"I saw that he's got a cast on - he's tough as hell," said Virginia face-off specialist Chad Gaudet, shaking his head.
When Virginia and Cornell meet at in the second D-I semifinal at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, it'll be a game that features two of the game's best face-off men. Playing one of the most uniquely essential and massively unheralded jobs in all of sports, Cornell's Glynn and Virginia's Gaudet - both post-grads - represent two of the biggest reasons why their teams are still alive.
"I think it's one of the biggest differences in our team between this
year and last year," said Virginia longstick middie Mike Timms about
Gaudet. "He has this attitude that even if he loses the face-off, he
knows it's not over. Well, he wins most of them, but when he doesn't,
it's never over."
The face-off is something like a debate, a battle of wits and craft - if debates ended in separated shoulders, repositioned noses and finely shredded collarbones.
And they're both good. Both perpetually covered in mud, patchwork facial hair and grins, Glynn and Gaudet are both among the nation's leaders at the X. Glynn's fourth in the country, winning face-offs at a .592 clip. Gaudet's 23rd, with a .551 win percentage.
And neither one had ever taken a face-off before college.
"It's kind of a dirty, scrappy game," Glynn said. "You gotta get your nose down in the dirt."
"For him, it was more about mentality than it was about technique," Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said about Glynn. "He's done a better job with his technique, but it's about mentality."
Gaudet didn't even go to school for lacrosse. A Winchester, Mass. native and standout at running back at the Concord School, he went to Dartmouth to play football. After an injury ended his career, he turned to lacrosse, playing two years for the Big Green before graduating and finishing up his career with the Cavaliers this year.
Playing mainly close defense and longstick middie at Dartmouth, Gaudet parlayed the Ivy education into some intellectual leverage on the field.
"I love the gamesmanship," Gaudet said.
"You gotta get a feel for the guy as the game goes on," he continued. "You get the feel for what he likes to do, certain moves he uses."
Then after the planning, there's the simple matter of throwing your body at a guy who's built to do the exact same thing. And, in Gaudet's case, a guy who, evidently, doesn't even need two working elbows to do his job.
"When your best players are your hardest workers, it's a great thing," Tambroni said.
The face-off is something like a debate, a battle of wits and craft - if debates ended in separated shoulders, repositioned noses and finely shredded collarbones.
And they're both good. Both perpetually covered in mud, patchwork facial hair and grins, Glynn and Gaudet are both among the nation's leaders at the X. Glynn's fourth in the country, winning face-offs at a .592 clip. Gaudet's 23rd, with a .551 win percentage.
And neither one had ever taken a face-off before college.
"It's kind of a dirty, scrappy game," Glynn said. "You gotta get your nose down in the dirt."
"For him, it was more about mentality than it was about technique," Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said about Glynn. "He's done a better job with his technique, but it's about mentality."
Gaudet didn't even go to school for lacrosse. A Winchester, Mass. native and standout at running back at the Concord School, he went to Dartmouth to play football. After an injury ended his career, he turned to lacrosse, playing two years for the Big Green before graduating and finishing up his career with the Cavaliers this year.
Playing mainly close defense and longstick middie at Dartmouth, Gaudet parlayed the Ivy education into some intellectual leverage on the field.
"I love the gamesmanship," Gaudet said.
"You gotta get a feel for the guy as the game goes on," he continued. "You get the feel for what he likes to do, certain moves he uses."
Then after the planning, there's the simple matter of throwing your body at a guy who's built to do the exact same thing. And, in Gaudet's case, a guy who, evidently, doesn't even need two working elbows to do his job.
"When your best players are your hardest workers, it's a great thing," Tambroni said.
Leave a comment