Garino’s ‘shot’ at faceoffs pays dividends at Maryland

Jon Garino’s introduction to the faceoff X came out of necessity more so than natural habit.

When Garino was a sophomore at Episcopal Academy, the Churchmen needed a faceoff midfielder, so Garino gave it a shot. He got good at it quickly enough to draw Lafayette’s attention, and he committed to the Leopards with the idea of spending four productive years in Easton.

In his senior year, however, Garino became the best faceoff man in the state. He won an incredible 80 percent of his faceoffs, including a 20-for-28 day in EA’s Inter-Ac Invitational upset of rival Haverford School. He also tallied 20 goals and chipped in 12 assists, outrageous numbers for a guy winning faceoffs at an 80 percent clip, and it was good enough to earn him an All-America nod.

Garino caught the eye of a traditional power when Maryland coach John Tillman came calling, and eventually, the call to be a Terrapin was too much to pass up. He committed with the full understanding that he’d redshirt as a freshman and be a Terp for five years. Despite that, Garino never fully locked down a starting job, biding his time behind All-American Charlie Raffa and later, Austin Henningsen.

“All of our faceoff guys pull for each other and one of the most underrated aspects of our team is guys buying into their role on the team,” Garino said. “I kind of liked the dynamic of coming off the bench and I think it ended up being perfect. I got a little bit lucky in that regard. Everything just sort of clicked for me and I saved my best for last.”

That’s putting it mildly. Monday, Maryland topped Ohio State, 9-6, for its first national championship since 1975. The driving force behind the last Terps’ national title? None other than current Garnet Valley coach Frank Urso, a dominant midfielder who is at or near the top of any greatest of all-time debates. Since then, it had been heartbreak after heartbreak for the Terps. They made a whopping 20 Final Fours since then — including the past three years — with no hardware to show for it.

Perhaps none of those near misses were as tough to take as last season’s overtime loss to North Carolina at Lincoln Financial Field.

This time around, however, Garino was at the heart of it all, coming off the bench to best Ohio State second-team All-American Jake Withers on 10 of 14 faceoffs to claim MVP honors in the title game. Former Radnor standout Jack Wilson, a freshman, also earned a national championship as part of this special Maryland team.

“It’s tough to put into words,” Garino said. “I don’t even know what to say. The joy of winning has hit, but I don’t think that the gravity of winning, the history behind it and the impact has really sunk in yet. Maryland always has a shot because of the program and the guys that are recruited, but we didn’t talk about the past too much. When we lost last year, the sense of urgency crept back.”

The sense of urgency on Garino’s career surged to the forefront, too. He served as part of a trio of faceoff specialists for Maryland, but went on an unprecedented run in the Terps’ final three games. In the quarterfinals against Albany, he picked apart third-team All-American TD Ierlan to the tune of a 12-for-14 day. A round later, he split six faceoffs evenly with Denver first-team AllAmerican and Tewaaraton Award finalist Trevor Baptiste. By comparison, Baptiste won nearly 75 percent of his faceoffs all season, an otherworldly number.

Finally, after Withers beat Henningsen on five of the first six faceoffs, Garino came in and guided Maryland to its first national title in 42 years. The former Churchman is a bit of a throwback, too. He used an underhand grip, considered to be something of a relic in the sport, which gave him an extra wrinkle to throw at guys who’d seen almost everything before.

“It’s incredibly difficult for faceoff guys to come off the bench cold and have a major impact, let alone what Jon did,” said EA faceoff coach John Bodnar, who coached Garino with the Churchmen and has worked extensively with him at his prestigious Philly Face-Off League. “To do that against three All-Americans in a row is unprecedented. It was truly amazing to watch.”

There was no better way for Garino to cap his career than a ridiculous run to help end Maryland’s drought. It was a storybook ending for this underdog on the big stage.

“If you told me before the game that it’d pan out that way, I most likely wouldn’t have believed you,” Garino said. “I just tried to stay poised and trust my training. This is going to bond our team forever. We did it for each other and we did it for all of the alumni, our friends and family. You get more of a sense of gravity when you talk to the alums, but I’m just so happy for everyone associated with the program.”

Forty-two years of waiting means there are a lot of happy people in College Park. It’s safe to say Garino’s switch five years ago paid off.