This article appears in the April 2020 edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. This story went to press March 6 and appears as it appears in the magazine, which hits homes later this month. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, we are committed to telling the best stories in lacrosse and recognizing those players who have achieved excellence. Read why in editor-in-chief Matt DaSilva's latest column. Don’t get the mag? Head to USLacrosse.org to subscribe.

T

D Ierlan knew he was close to the NCAA’s all-time ground balls record — that if he had a good day, he’d probably break it in the season opener Feb. 16 at Villanova. But that’s the extent of thought he gave it.

As expected, Yale’s historic faceoff man broke Kevin Massa’s all-time record with his 754th career ground ball. He didn’t know he had broken the record. He just wanted to keep winning faceoffs.

Ierlan won 23 of 31 faceoffs in Yale’s 18-12 win at Villanova Stadium outside of Philadelphia — the same city where the Bulldogs’ 2019 season ended in an NCAA title game loss to Virginia.

Ierlan trotted off the field toward the visitors’ bench area, where coach Andy Shay ambled toward him. Shay handed Ierlan the game ball, informing his star player he made history, again. Walking next to Ierlan, teammate Brian Tevlin couldn’t help himself. 

“You didn’t have that already?” he teased. “I thought you already had that record.”

Minutes after he got to the locker room, Ierlan checked his phone to find a text from his brother, Chayse, Cornell’s starting goalie.

Chayse Ierlan wanted to remind his brother of the record he had over him.

“I took one faceoff in high school [at Victor, N.Y.] after he left, and I won it,” he said. “I try to let him know that every time he breaks a record. He can’t get to 100 percent, so I’ll always have that on him.”

TD Ierlan, who transferred to Yale from Albany last year, was already the NCAA Division I all-time leader in faceoff wins (and adding to that total). He’s also the single-season record holder in faceoff win percentage and faceoff wins. Entering his senior year, he was on pace to break Trevor Baptiste’s career faceoff win percentage of 71.4.

Ierlan, a Tewaaraton finalist last year, could very well cement his case as the best faceoff man that college lacrosse has ever seen.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation, maybe even longer, type of talent,” Shay said. “He’s one of the best to ever play the position, but you’d never know if you saw him on the street. What he’s done, his level of consistency, that’s a tribute to how hard of a worker he is. He’s got all the talent and ability, but he’s tough as hell, and he’s not above the dirty work.”

Unlike some other prolific faceoff men, Ierlan does not fuss much over how his numbers stack up against others, though Shay said he’s as driven as any player to come through Yale.

Ierlan’s work ethic was instilled in him early in his childhood. His father, Mike, a football and lacrosse coach, pushed his two sons and their sister, Doyle. TD and Chayse battled in the backyard playing lacrosse and football, and when things got heated, they resorted to wrestling.

“Whether it’s Yahtzee or any family event, he’s always trying to win and outdo me,” Chayse Ierlan said. “Even when he was in chess club in high school, he was trying to compete.”

Ierlan created another challenge in the summer of 2018 when he decided to transfer from Albany, where he and Connor Fields had just led the Great Danes to their first final four. Yale had throttled Albany 20-11 in the NCAA semifinals en route to the Bulldogs’ first national championship since 1883.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em? Not quite, no matter what the Twitter trolls contended.

Ierlan cited the academic workload as a factor in his decision to transfer. The Great Danes prospered in his two seasons but have had difficulty replicating that success without him and Fields.

“It was probably the most difficult decision I had to make, hands down,” Ierlan told US Lacrosse Magazine then. “The whole process was tough to come to grips with. Not being able to play [at Albany] is something I’ll be missing. I just had to make the decision at the end of the day.”

After Ierlan, a political science major, stepped onto campus at Yale, he never questioned his decision. It took a few weeks to adapt to the academic workload, so he wasn’t thrilled with his performance during fall ball. But Ierlan soon found a group of teammates who made him feel comfortable in his new surroundings.

As Ierlan rediscovered his rhythm on the field, shattering the NCAA single-season record by winning 75.7 percent of his faceoffs, he strengthened bonds with his Yale teammates off of it. He became a regular at Pepe’s for pizza with Lucas Cotler and Will Renz and played Nintendo Wii in their apartment.

“Wii bowling is the big one right now,” Ierlan said. “It’s our flavor of the week. Tensions got pretty high last week. We almost got in a fight about it.”

Ierlan, Joe Neuman and Nicholas Ramsey routinely train together outside of practice, taking reps at Reese Stadium. He also spends time practicing his clamps and exits with Drew Simoneau of the Premier Lacrosse League’s Waterdogs — a friendship that dates back to Ierlan’s high school years.

Yes, Ierlan plans to go pro. He’s a surefire first-round draft pick.

“I’d regret it if I didn’t play,” he said. “It would be good to give my parents something to do. They might go crazy with all that extra time.”

Until then, Ierlan will continue to tilt the field for Yale, which has advanced to the NCAA championship game the last two years, falling to Virginia in 2019. Ierlan hopes to complete a rare career trajectory with an NCAA title this Memorial Day — he lost in the NCAA quarterfinals his freshman year, the semifinals his sophomore year and the championship game last season. Jamie Trimboli, an All-American midfielder at Syracuse and Ierlan’s classmate at Victor, pointed that out to him during a recent conversation.

Whether Ierlan accomplishes the feat won’t change his influence on the faceoff position. He’ll end his college career as, statistically, the best player to ever step up to the stripe.

He’s even made a believer out of those, including Shay, who have criticized the faceoff position’s sometimes undue influence on the results of games.

“I’ve said that I wasn’t a huge fan of the faceoff. I’m not afraid to admit I’m a full-on hypocrite,” Shay said, before offering a rather self-serving compromise. “We can keep it around for at least this year.”

Ierlan Chimes In

Following an unseen end to the 2020 season, Ierlan joined Lax Sports Network to discuss the sudden cancellation.

.@yalelacrosse TD Ierlan talks with Travis about the team, what it means to him, and what he is doing now that Lacrosse has been canceled and he is back home. pic.twitter.com/1llgAHaas3

— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) March 19, 2020