Mike Sisselberger Establishes Himself as the Archers’ Missing Piece
Four separate times in the second half of the Archers Lacrosse Club’s season opener the Cannons Lacrosse Club cut the margin to two goals. But, after each and every one of those scores, rookie faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger won the ball at the stripe and generated a goal-scoring possession to stem the tide of the Cannons’ comeback.
“There were big faceoffs at big moments and that was a huge difference,” said Archers Head Coach Chris Bates of Sisselberger’s clutch play. “I was happy to see his ability to, in those moments, give us the ball and settle us down. I thought it was a difference for us today for sure.”
In his career debut, Sisselberger finished 24/30 (80%) at the faceoff stripe and added a goal, an assist, and 14 ground balls. He dominated his matchup against the Cannons’ Stephen Kelly from start to finish and hardly ever looked under duress while doing so.
“He wasn’t picked whatever he was picked (fifth overall) for nothing,” commented Cannons Head Coach Brian Holman. “We wanted to see what he could do [with the ball in his stick],” Holman said, mentioning the dilemma regarding “who are you sliding off of? Grant [Ament], Connor [Fields], or Mac O’Keefe?” and emphasizing that Sisselberger “did a good job and that really helped them a lot.”
Holman’s note on Sisselberger’s play after the faceoff itself is meaningful. His talent at the stripe has never been in question, but his ability following the draw was the one possible knock on the Lehigh product’s game coming out of school.
While it’s only been one game, any concerns about his adjustment to the pro game or the impact he can have after the draw look silly. Throughout Saturday’s contest, Sisselberger found ways to contribute to the team’s offense and negated the ramifications of the new 32-second shot clock after the faceoff.
One win late in the third quarter stood out when he carried the ball down the right sideline while being hounded by multiple defenders, charged towards the middle of the defense, and then fed Ament for a snipe after drawing nearly the entire Cannons defense to him.
