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New York Atlas midfielder Dox Aitken

‘Flashback PTSD’: Inside Dox Aitken’s unexpected return to attack for Atlas

By Lauren Merola | Aug 16, 2024

What are you doing here?

That was New York Atlas attackman Xander Dickson’s first thought when he saw midfield mainstay Dox Aitken trot down low to replace injured attackman Connor Shellenberger during last week’s matchup with the Utah Archers.

Dickson, who played with Aitken at Virginia from 2019 to 2021, is used to seeing his teammate on offense, but more so after a full-field sprint, not starting down low together. The cavalier confusion – pun intended – was mutual for Aitken after he hadn’t really played attack since his freshman year at The Haverford School (Pa.).

“After a timeout in the third quarter, the coaches were talking about who they were gonna put out there, and they went with me,” Aitken said. “I was like, what is actually happening here?”

“I played attack in middle school and a tiny bit in high school, so it was kind of like flashback PTSD. It was fun to go back out there and play righty attack and be on the right wing. You just try to not mess up the flow of our offense. That’s first and foremost. Then figure out if you can get back to your same spots as a midfielder and try and just not screw anything up.”

Check.

Aitken finished the day with a hat trick on a season-high 60% shooting as the Atlas won 15-11 in Denver. He has set career highs in points (15), goals (14), ground balls (16) and games played (9) in a resurgent 2024 season.

Still, Aitken on attack? After 10-plus years solely in the midfield?

“We were like, ‘What’s going on right now? What are you doing down here?’” Dickson joked postgame.

While Aitken said he “forgot how cool it is” to watch the possession come to the attackers down low as opposed to running the ball into the offensive zone, his footprint on the 2024 season is stamped in the midfield, especially on the wing. 

This season, Aitken helped reverse one of New York’s biggest pain points from 2023: offensive efficiency after a won faceoff. New York struggled mightily last season to adapt to the introduction of the shorter shot-clock rule, which gave teams 32 seconds after a faceoff win instead of 52. It converted on 20.7% of such possessions in 2023, whereas New York scored on a league-leading 36.4% of 32-second possessions so far this season. 

The next most efficient team within the short frame in 2024 is the Denver Outlaws (28.4%). The league average is 23.7%.

This year, running players like Aitken on the wing has made the difference (Aitken spent the 2023 season on the PUP list), allowing New York to transition more quickly into opponents’ zones. With fewer players needing to sub off, the Atlas get into offensive sets sooner and get more shots off. 

Aitken scored multiple goals off the wing this season, ranking first in the PLL with 10 goals within the 32-second frame. Archers midfielder Tre Leclaire follows with eight. He also scored the first goal in three of the Atlas' nine games.

“Trevor [Baptiste] wins a ton of faceoffs so we’re able to get those extra 32-second possessions a lot of the time,” Aitken said. “We’re moving the ball quickly. Our team is unselfish so when you draw a slide and you’re able to get it to your feeders, it’s a good place for us midfielders to be in because then we can find those soft spots where feeders can find us.”

Against the Archers, Aitken stood in as one of those feeders, getting to scan the field from the bottom up as opposed to top down. But the most considerate part of the position, he said, was the chance to give his legs a rest.

“You don’t have to do as much running, so that part is cushy,” he said. “I like that part about attack.”

Shellenberger’s left foot injury will keep him out of this Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Waterdogs, but Aitken doesn’t expect to reprise his role at attack. 

“We’ll have to see what comes in practice," he said. "I’ve had a couple convos with coach and that doesn’t come up. We have guys ready to be subbed in. You never know. I don’t even know.”

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