CJ Costabile, a long-stick midfielder for the U.S. training team, has spent much of his lacrosse career at or around the faceoff X. Whether it was taking faceoffs in college at Duke alongside current Team USA teammate Brendan Fowler, or stepping up to play the wing, Costabile has a good idea of how a faceoff will play out and where he needs to be to ensure success.

Most memorably, of course, Costabile won the faceoff and scored the goal four seconds into overtime that lifted the Blue Devils to their first NCAA championship in 2010. Now with MLL’s Chesapeake Bayhawks, he has watched the faceoff position morph in recent years.

As much as the attention has shifted toward the faceoff men like 2015 MLL MVP Greg Gurenlian and 2017 Tewaaraton finalist Trevor Baptiste, Costabile maintains it’s a 3-on-3 game, with the wings heavily involved.

WINGING IT

1. Stay hip-to-hip. Maintain contact with your opponent at the hips throughout the faceoff. Wherever the guy goes, you want to go. Keep your hip-side leg back before you start.

2. Step across his body. That’s the first step. I’m boxing out and pushing him behind me right off the bat and using the fact that I have a 6-foot pole to get him behind me. It’s the ball, then me, then the man.

3. Keep your space. If the faceoff turns into a scrum, you want to stay 5-8 yards from the faceoff X. You want to give yourself time to react if that ball squirts out. If you get too close, switch the roles and try to pin your man inside so you can get the ball if it pops out.

4. Read the play. If you win the ball, continue to box out your man and create an avenue to break off and shoot or pass it to an attackman. If I lose, my immediate b-line is to the attackmen. Take that extra time to make it a 4-on-4.

WATCH

The U.S. Blue-White game (Jan. 6, 4:30 p.m. ET) at Team USA Spring Premiere will be streamed live at uslacrosse.org.