Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/24/20
Staff Report
Greg Gurenlian, the Springfield-Delco and Penn State graduate who is considered by many as the greatest faceoff specialist of all-time, announced his retirement from lacrosse on Wednesday in a post on the Premier Lacrosse League’s Instagram page.
“Physically and emotionally, I’ve left it all on the field for the people I played for and with,” Gurenlian wrote in the letter. “This sport has given me so much.”
Affectionately known as “The Beast,” Gurenlian emerged as a standout at Penn State and was drafted by the Rochester Rattlers in the 2006 Major League Lacrosse Draft. He spent 12 years in the MLL, the last eight with the New York Lizards.
In 2015, he set the MLL record for most ground balls in a season (1,004), most faceoff wins in a season and highest faceoff percentage (73.2) and was named league MVP. He was also a 2015 MLL champion.
Gurenlian also played for Duke’s L.C. Adult and has been coaching Philly face-off specialists through clinics and the Faceoff Academy for years.
Gurenlian retired in 2017 from the MLL – as the MLL’s all-time leader in faceoff wins with 2,024 triumphs as well as ground balls, with 1,004 – but then returned to play in the PLL’s inaugural season with Redwoods LC last year. In 2018, Gurenlian also helped Team USA win the FIL Championship.
Gurenlian was an All-State midfielder at Springfield-Delco and still holds the Penn State career mark for face-off wins (508 of 875).
At LaxCon 2020 in Philly, Gurenlian revealed his grand plan to revamp the faceoff.
“You’ll be seeing a lot of me and I can’t wait to get to work on the next chapter of my life,” he wrote.
