A. L. L. Summer Championships: Make it, Take it FOGOs on the Rise

Following my piece on the <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2025/07/a-l-l-summer-championships-attackmen-shooting-the-lights-out/">top attackmen </a>I saw at the Alliance Summer Championships, we now shift our focus to seven face-off specialists who impressed me, as well as numerous college coaches, over the three days in Boyds, Maryland. Each of these players has big-play ability and works hard at their craft to be dominant at the X and consistent for their teams.    Maraglino impressed in his game vs 3D Garden State, tallying 7 face-off wins and dominating the time of possession for his team along with teammate Colman McNamara who both only lost two face-offs all game. He is quick to the punch on the whistle and is a scrappy and can mix it up in the ground ball scrum if needed. He has good fundamentals and shows great consistency at the X and when he has the ball he is smart with it and is a threat to score. Maraglino also shows he is unselfish and won't force opportunities that aren't there, instead he will get in to his attackman and let the offense work with quick decision-making. The Brunswick product is a hard working player and always showing maximum effort on the field to help his team win.     Reddock was elite in his game against Evolve, notching a total of 13 face-off wins and making it look easy along the way. He's quick to the clamp and has the versatility to win face-offs either behind or through his legs, but can also pinch and pop it to himself for a transition opportunity. He gets low on ground balls and has good speed to apply pressure on the opposing defense, making them step up and play him to get the fast break initiated. The Smithtown East product is confident in his stick skills and shows patience with the ball when pressure is applied. He has good size, strength and a high lacrosse IQ and I believe that will help him polish his game in the coming years before moving to the next level.     Dimnaku put on a great performance over the three games I watched, as he and Finley McClintock dominated the face-off X for their squad. Having two FOGOs that can win with ease is a luxury and is in part due to why 3D New England had so much success. They were able to produce offensively and then get the ball right back from good FOGO and wing play. The Wellesley, MA native has quick reactions coupled with good stick skills and shows patience with the ball when he draws a long-stick. He has the strength and durability to grind out long face-off battles or grueling ground ball scrums and is able to absorb checks and blow past his defender to start a transition chance with his speed. He finished with 5 wins vs DC Express, 4 wins vs Sweetlax, and 4 wins in the title game vs BBL, consistently winning face-offs cleanly and getting it up and out to let the offense set up.     The first thing you notice about DeNegri is his physicality and strength at the face-off X. He is a big body to deal with and uses his body well when he is able to overpower his opponent and get the clamp or in ground ball battles when he needs to box out. He won 6 face-offs vs Tri-State and then tallied 5 wins vs 3D Garden State, showcasing his ability to win the face-off anywhere he wants and control the tempo. When he's able to win it forward, he has good speed to evade pressure and with his goal vs Tri-State, he displayed his shooting ability as well, making the defense play him which helps the offense get moving. He has good instincts and puts his body on the line if it means helping his team win. He should see more action for Delbarton this coming spring.     Bare is a solid FOGO with good size and speed at the X. He times the whistle well and gets a good jump on his matchups, with the stick skills to quickly pinch and pop the ball to space for a ground ball or a transition opportunity. He has good reaction time and speed out of his stance and can push the ball and apply pressure on the defense with good shooting skills, but doesn't force shots and plays smart. He totaled 5 wins vs Sweetlax and won his first two face-offs with ease and was out on the fast breaks quickly. When he couldn't win the face-off cleanly, he did a good job of forcing ground balls to give his wings a chance to get involved and showed his toughness coming away with a few ground balls to help his team.     Brasher is a 4-star recruit and when you see him in action you can see why. He is a dynamic FOGO who likes to push in transition and has shown to be a threat to score. He recorded 4 wins vs Blue Star, 4 wins vs Freedom LC, and a pair of wins vs 3D New England where he was matched up against great competitors all weekend long and made it tough on his opponents. He gets a good jump on the whistle and is able to take advantage and looks to kickstart the offense for a quick goal. Brasher is aggressive going to the goal, able to absorb checks and finish in traffic. If he's caught on defense, he can hold his own and works hard in ground ball scrums, using his size and strength to fight for possessions for his team. He's extremely athletic and it'll be fun to see what the future holds for the IMG product.     McBrady is a tough player and uses his hockey background to help him at the face-off X. He displays quick reaction time and strength to get the clamp off the whistle and does a good job of dictating where he pops the ball out to. He can win it behind to himself, between his legs to the wing, or can push transition and get the defense out of position to help his offense work. With his 8 face-off wins vs Triad Elite, he displayed quick hands and good stick skills to win the face-off, evading the pressure and showing confidence with the ball in his stick. When he is left alone on the break, he can make you pay with a hard shot and good accuracy to keep the defenses respecting his ability, but is also unselfish and makes smart plays for his squad.

Following my piece on the top attackmen I saw at the Alliance Summer Championships, we now shift our focus to seven face-off specialists who impressed me, as well as numerous college coaches, over the three days in Boyds, Maryland. Each of these players has big-play ability and works hard at their craft to be dominant at the X and consistent for their teams.