Watch out, National Lacrosse League. The American FOGOs are coming.

As we hover around the halfway point of the season, two of the top three faceoff specialists in terms of wins are Americans who come from little box lacrosse background. Last year it was Trevor Baptiste who burst on the scene, winning 68 percent of his draws in his rookie season. He’s taken that up to 74 percent this year, placing him atop the NLL leaderboard.

While Baptiste at least had some indoor experience in the Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League, one of this year’s fresh faces is entirely new to the box game. New York Riptide faceoff extraordinaire Alex Woodall had never stepped in the box before, but that hasn’t stopped him from emerging into one of the league’s top draw men.

“This summer somebody mentioned to me, ‘You should play for a year,’” Woodall said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know if I really want to do that. I don’t know if that’s me. I played all college season, I don’t know if I want to play in the summer and the winter.’

“I kind of just thought about it, and then New York reached out to me. Once they reached out to me, it was kind of hard to say no.”

His decision is paying off, both for himself and the expansion Riptide.

Woodall, made famous in lacrosse circles for his outdoor work at Towson and professionally with the Atlanta Blaze of Major League Lacrosse, currently ranks third in the NLL in faceoff wins with 131. He’s won 53 percent of his draws through nine games.

Baptiste and Woodall aren’t alone, either. New England has turned to an American, trusting Joe Nardella at the faceoff circle. The Rutgers grad has won 60 percent of his draws in addition to a goal and three assists in his first game action.

“My goal is to inspire young players to set their goals high and play in the NLL just like I did,” Nardella said earlier this month after scoring his first career goal. “It’s something that takes a little bit of perseverance, some hard work, dedication. And you can’t fear failure because you’re going to fail trying a new game.

“But I hope seeing me, someone who takes faceoffs in the field game, transition and be able to put one in helps some kids that maybe hope that someday, that can be them.”

The influx of Americans is a trend that’s not unique to the faceoff position in the NLL, especially as teams look to fill roster spots with rapid expansion. Scouting the field game is becoming more and more of a necessity as the league runs out of premier Canadian players to choose from.

“I think you’re going to see more guys successful both at indoor and outdoor,” San Diego Seals general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill said. “It’s just going to grow the game in general.”

But while Americans are becoming more ubiquitous across the league, they aren’t succeeding at the same volume at other positions.

You might think it would be an easy transition. A faceoff is a faceoff, right? But while there may be less of a learning curve than the American forwards and defensemen face, an indoor and outdoor faceoff are not the same.

“One, you’re a lot farther away from the ball,” Baptiste told US Lacrosse Magazine last year while reflecting on his debut. “The line is really thick. You have to kind of jump a little bit more because you have more distance to go with your head.”

“I like to go forward a lot with the ball,” Woodall said. “But the wing guys are in front and behind you. You have to change when you exit with the ball.”

Woodall points to the added responsibility as the biggest difference between his roles with the Blaze and Riptide. The Maryland native often stays on the floor after draws in the NLL, playing a defensive role. He said he hasn’t done that since seventh grade.

“I won’t lie, it’s pretty difficult,” Woodall said. “You kind of want to go out and play 1-on-1 defense like you do in field. In reality, it’s not really about that. You go out and play 1-on-1 defense, somebody’s going to take you off. You have to know how to communicate.”

Unsurprisingly, the skills developed indoors can help when moving back outdoors. Baptiste showed off his improved transition skills last summer with Atlas LC of the Premier Lacrosse League, scoring three times. If Woodall gets stuck on defense this summer, he’ll at least have some recent experience to draw from.

While indoors, Woodall admitted there are still some lapses as he gets adjusted to the game. That’s expected when thrust into an entirely new environment, playing against competition that grew up with this style of the sport.

But Baptiste’s work in his sophomore year in Philadelphia serves as a reminder of the path Americans can go down.

“He inspires me to know that it’s doable,” Woodall said.