Finally Teammates: Baptiste, Ierlan Grateful to Suit Up for U.S.

Trevor Baptiste and TD Ierlan leaned into the faceoff X on a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.

For days leading into the much-anticipated NCAA quarterfinal matchup between Denver and Albany on May 18, 2018, the talk surrounded two of college lacrosse’s greatest-ever faceoff men — a meeting unlike any other in the history of the game. The two NCAA career leaders in faceoff percentage were meeting for the first time with a Championship Weekend berth on the line.

“It was a little eerie outside,” Baptiste said. “It was like that final boss scene where it’s a big battle. You got Quint and Carc. They’re interviewing us. They’re coming up to us saying, ‘How are you feeling?’ They had the faceoffs in slo-mo. When do they ever have the faceoffs in slo-mo?”

From the first faceoff to the last one, Baptiste and Ierlan went back-and-forth, making adjustments they’d never seen from an opposing faceoff man. Albany emerged with a 15-13 victory, but the final stat line at the faceoff X was telling. Baptiste and Ierland both went 15-for-30.

“Every guy you go against, you figure them out,” Ierlan said. “With him, he adjusted, and then I adjusted. It was like he always had more tricks up his sleeve.”

As much as the two faceoff stars savored the chance to meet for the first time, both admitted they’d much rather work together. Now PLL professionals and colleagues, Baptiste and Ierlan have become good friends and have helped drive one another.

In December, Baptiste and Ierlan were announced as part of the 23-man U.S. men’s national team roster heading to San Diego next week for the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship. It’s chance for two of the world’s best to finally call each other teammates.

The legendary faceoff unit is tasked with helping the U.S. repeat its gold-medal performance from Netanya, Israel, in 2018. That team featured Greg Gurenlian and Baptiste doing the dirty work on faceoffs. Now, another generation will be represented at the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship.

“It’s about wanting to see you get the best out of yourself,” Baptiste said. “It helps when you have another person pushing you, which is what TD has been for me and vice versa. I’m even more appreciative that we’re on the same team.”

“[Trevor] revolutionized the game, and everyone’s trying to catch up to what he’s doing,” Ierlan said. “I would not be where I am without him pushing it forward day by day.”

Just under two years separate Baptiste and Ierlan, but the former made an impact in college lacrosse as the latter was developing his skills in Victor, N.Y. Fresh off a 2015 NCAA title run with Denver, Baptiste first met Ierlan at a summer camp in Rochester that same year.

Ierlan, who watched Baptiste’s faceoffs on YouTube as he developed, shined at the camp as a high school sophomore.

“It was like a youth clinic,” Ierlan said. “I was doing well against third graders, and I was a sophomore in high school.”

“He tore it up, obviously,” Baptiste said. “It’s crazy looking back because he was right there.”

Ierlan enrolled at Albany, where he quickly became one of the best young faceoff men in the country. As his name started to rise in the college lacrosse world, he was still focused on the opponent that pushed him every day.

After each game, Ierlan and Baptiste checked in on each other, even though they had only met a few times prior.

“Every faceoff guy, whether they admit it or not, is checking out what other guys are doing,” Ierlan said. “There was one day I lost one faceoff and then Trevor was perfect, and I was like, ‘Oh, great.’”

The fateful day when the two met in the NCAA quarters in 2018 was an inflection point in the history of college lacrosse. The game inspired many current faceoff men, including the likes of Mike Sisselberger (who now works with Ierlan and Baptiste for the U.S. training team).

 “It was a storybook ending,” Baptiste said of the final result being 15-for-30.

As Baptiste transitioned into the professional ranks, Ierlan continued a torrid pace in college lacrosse. When Ierlan transferred from Yale to Denver for his final season, he worked with Baptiste regularly. Ierlan finished his career with a 75.1 winning percentage, topping Baptiste’s NCAA record of 71.4.

In the past two years, Ierlan and Baptiste have trained together, honing their skills as they both competed in the PLL and NLL. The duo finished as the top two faceoff men in the PLL in 2021 — Baptiste topping the list for Atlas LC while Ierlan finished second with Redwoods LC.

Last summer, Baptiste and Ierlan got the chance to work as teammates during the U.S. tryout process. Baptiste, the gold medalist from 2018, made sure to help his friend with the nuances of international faceoff play.

“TD can go in and do well at any level,” Baptiste said. “It’s just a matter of knowing what’s coming. I just tried to talk him through the differences with the international game, which comes with its advantages and disadvantages.”

Next week, Baptiste and Ierlan will form, historically and statistically, the greatest faceoff duo in lacrosse history. The two faceoff stars worked together during training camp over the weekend, preparing for the intricacies of international faceoff rules and making sure the wings are communicating accordingly.

When the lights come on at Snapdragon Stadium on Wednesday, Baptiste and Ierlan will be teammates.

“It’ll nice to have him on the sideline when I’m facing off,” Ierlan said. “We’re going to be a great duo.”

If you’re wondering, they’ve yet to come up with a nickname.

“We need to come up with something clever,” Baptiste said. “We need a little swag with it.”

“We just have to look up WWE tag team duos,” Ierlan joked.