Greg Gurenlian. Photo by: Stacy Podelski/1495 Sports
Major League Lacrosse has named New York Lizards’ faceoff specialist, Greg “Beast” Gurenlian, the 2015 league MVP. Gurenlian had a dominant season at the faceoff ‘X’ and put up statistics that no faceoff man has done in years past in 2015.
“Greg is the epitome of a team leader. To say this award is well-deserved is an understatement,” said Lizards Head Coach Joe Spallina. “He’s risen above our expectations and you won’t see anything less than domination this weekend in Atlanta.”
To say “Beast” broke records is an understatement, as he shattered a majority of previous records. With one game left to go and improve his current numbers (including regular season and playoffs), Gurenlian sits at a 72 percent faceoff win total, going 299-412 on the season; the previous record for single-season faceoff percentage was 64, also set by Gurenlian. In addition, the 175 groundballs Gurenlian has recorded thus far is a single-season record.
“You can’t win this award on your own. I’m the beneficiary of a team that scores a ton of goals. I have the best defense in the league behind me and a coach that lets me go out and play my game the way I know how to. It’s the perfect storm,” said Gurenlian. “The only thing I really want to focus on now is the Championship. It’s the ultimate team award.”
The 2015 season was filled with many awards for Gurenlian. In addition to the league MVP, Gurenlian was also named the FOAthlete of the Year and the USL/MLL Sportsmanship Player of the Year. “Beast” is a founder of The Faceoff Academy along with Chris Mattes and fellow Lizard Jerry Ragonese, which was established to provide instruction on every component of the faceoff at an elite level.
A graduate of Penn State University, Gurenlian will take the field one last time for the 2015 season with the Lizards this Saturday, August 8th as the team takes on the Rochester Rattlers in the MLL Finals. The game will be played at Fifth Third Bank Stadium Stadium, with the opening faceoff coming at 7 p.m.
Gurenlian will be looking to lead the Lizards to their first MLL Championship since 2003. Tickets to the game can be bought at MajorLeagueLacrosse.com/Championship-game.
For more information on the New York Lizards fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here: