Bailer, Baugher are on the draw for men's lacrosse

Two combatants, clad in their traditional armor, lie crouched in the middle of a field, with only a small rubber ball and a painted line between them. A man, dressed in the monochrome wardrobe of an official, stands over the pair, examining the placement of their weapons. He steadies them, then retreats. With the shrill sound of his whistle, the two uncoil like tensed-up springs in a sudden flash of fury. The ball is quickly ejected from the melee and each looks to his onrushing allies to procure the precious orb.

This ritual — the faceoff — will be repeated approximately two dozen times in any men's lacrosse game. While perhaps not the most crucial element of a given game, the team that wins the most faceoffs grants itself the most basic commodity in lacrosse — possession of the ball.

For Princeton — and its deliberate, ball-control offense, the face-off has gained new significance.

"In light of moving back into this more possessive type offense, [the faceoff] becomes ultra-important," head coach Bill Tierney said. "If we can take two minutes of the clock, score and then get the ball back it becomes very frustrating for the other team."

This season, the Tigers are blessed with two of the strongest faceoff midfielders in the Ivy League. For the second consecutive year, junior Matt Bailer has taken the majority of the team's faceoffs. Sophomore Kyle Baugher takes nearly all other draws for Princeton.

Going into this past weekend's game against Harvard, Bailer had taken 90 of Princeton's 165 draws, winning 50 of them — good enough for a .550 face-off percentage. Baugher has won 30 of 61 faceoffs for a .491 percentage.

"Matt is more of a student of facing off," Tierney said. "He's a pretty tenacious kid. As of late he's done a great job for us."

The cerebral Bailer — who was 10th in the nation in 1999 with a faceoff percentage of .590 — has worked this season on expanding his faceoff repertoire. No longer just a clamper, Bailer enters each game with a few different strategies in mind. To calm and steady himself before the whistle, once he gets down in his stance, Bailer holds his breath in anticipation.

In his first year at Princeton, Baugher quickly established himself as the team's No. 2 faceoff man — winning 31 of 74 in 1999.

"[Baugher] relies on his quickness and athleticism," Tierney said. "Kyle gives us a different look from Matt — which is important."

Still, this dynamic duo has a great deal in common. Bailer and Baugher watch film of their upcoming opponent's faceoff specialists in preparation for games.

"I'd be surprised if somebody showed me something that I haven't seen," Bailer said.

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Furthermore, as with most face-off specialists, they make a concerted effort to learn the timing pattern of each of the games' three referees — all of whom alternate starting the play.

"You really want to concentrate on your own move," Baugher said. "You don't want to be reacting to [your opponent's] move off the faceoff because it would take too much time. You can get a feel for what the [referee's] rhythm is throughout the game."

The players on the wings are almost as vital to controlling a faceoff as the midfielder who takes the draw. Even if the Tiger taking the face-off is beaten to the clamp, the wing midfielders can still fly in and scoop up the ball. Tenacity and speed are the two most important characteristics of the players on the wing.

"I'm willing to let wing guys get it, but it depends on the move," Baugher said. "Sometimes you want to get the ball yourself, other times you're relying on your wing guys to get in there."

Four Corners

In the later stages of the season, faceoffs become even more important. In NCAA tournament games, the ability to strike quickly following an opponent's goal gives a team a huge edge.

Faceoffs in overtime are especially significant. In 1996, Princeton won a national championship by winning a faceoff in the extra period, calling a timeout and scoring a goal. Virginia — the runner-up that year — never touched the ball.

Princeton's ability to win clutch faceoffs in key games actually forced a rule change in lacrosse two years ago. Because of the Tigers' tendency to win the faceoff and call a timeout to put in the offensive lineup, the rule was changed to state that no timeout could be called until after the first dead ball.

"Over the years, faceoffs have been premier when you look at winning our first three national championships — all right off of faceoffs," Tierney said.

With Bailer and Baugher taking draws this year — who knows how the season might end for the Tigers?