V845 boys lacrosse player of year: Filipowski lets game do the talking
There’s one play that sums up Connor Filipowski’s junior season.
May 7. Under the lights at Valley Central. The start of overtime.
Filipowski, Warwick’s two-time All-America defenseman, took the face-off draw. He scooped up a ground ball and ran straight to the Valley Central net, wound up and scored the game-winning goal.
The Warwick players ran out to celebrate with Filipowski, who was having none of it. He was just doing his job.
“He’s not one to get excited over things like that,” said Warwick senior attack Aaron Ackerman. “He wasn’t really celebrating. He was kind of mad that we were all jumping on him but it was a great moment for him and for the team.”
Varsity845’s Player of the Year, Filipowski was a true do-it-all threat for Warwick this spring. He led a defense that held opponents to an average of 7.3 goals per game through the regular season and Section 9 Class A playoffs. Warwick won each of its first 18 matches, earning a spot in the Class A state poll in late May - it was the first time a Class A team from Section 9 had ever cracked the state rankings.
It was Filipowski’s versatility, his ability to play anywhere on the field, combined with his no-nonsense leadership by example that put Warwick on track for such an historic season.
“Connor is like a box full of tools,” said Warwick senior midfielder Nick Daigle. “He can do anything you ask him to do. He’s the most talented player I’ve ever played with in pretty much any sport. He’s an extremely hard worker. I’ve never seen anyone work out as hard as he does or practice as hard as he does. It’s amazing.”
Rising to the occasion
Three times this season, Filipowski drew a nearly impossible defensive assignment.
Minisink Valley senior attack Joe Sessa, the most prolific scorer in Section 9 history, had five goals and two assists in the first meeting between the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division II rivals. In the second game, Sessa scored four times.
The teams played again in the Section 9 Class A semifinals, with Filipowski holding Sessa scoreless.
“The whole game I was thinking, 'He hasn’t scored yet. I can’t let him,'” Filipowski said. “I was just trying my best not to let him score. He’s a great player.”
Filipowski’s opponents know the feeling. With Filipowski bearing down on them, they can’t play the type of game to which they’re accustomed.
“He’s a very aggressive player,” said Valley Central senior midfielder Hunter Cocks. “He’s fast, he’s strong, but more than that, he’s just smart. He takes good angles to the ball and he just knows the game inside and out. The lacrosse I.Q. he has is just ridiculous.”
Even Filipowski’s teammates are impressed by the things he does on the field.
“He’s got such natural athleticism and strength,” said senior defenseman Joe Rice. “It’s been such a great time playing with him for the past three years on varsity. I know he’s going to do big things in the future for Warwick and in college. He’s just got a nose for the ball on every ground ball.”
Contributing on both ends
As a young lacrosse player, Filipowski had played with a short stick as an attack and midfielder. By the time he reached his middle school years, he found himself with a long pole in his hands, playing defense.
Warwick head coach Graig McElroy saw Filipowski play with a short stick as a freshman during an off-season training session. He kept that idea tucked away for years, until Filipowski, jokingly asked if he could chip in at something other than defending.
“For me, it was more about him showing interest in trying to contribute on both ends to give more of himself to make beating a team like Niskayuna more of a reality,” McElroy said. “He probably said it in jest but it was something I had always wanted to do.”
Filipowski scored three of Warwick’s nine goals in the dramatic overtime win over Valley Central. He also scored the first goal of the game in the Wildcats’ 20-4 loss to eventual state champion Niskayuna in the opening round of the state tournament.
What really made Filipowski stand out to his teammates wasn’t so much his unstoppable efforts on defense or his willingness to add to the team’s attack on man-up situations. It was the fact that he was often the first player at practice, putting in extra time working on his shot or the times he went for another conditioning run when he didn’t have to.
His desire to be the best made his teammates want to be just like him. In turn, the wins followed.
“When you have a captain that leads on the field like that with their work ethic, it’s very contagious to the whole team,” Daigle said. “That’s what led to much of our success this season.”
At the season-ending team banquet, McElroy called Filipowski to the podium many times. He could barely even crack a smile as he took home armfuls of awards.
That simply isn’t his style. He wants to work, improve and win.
“He definitely is the type of kid who wants to make the plays,” McElroy said. “But he has that Barry Sanders-like attitude where he hands the ball to the ref and walks away like he’s been there before and he’ll be there again.”
wmontgomery@th-record.com
Twitter: @THR_Montgomery
School: Warwick
Class: Junior
Position: Defense
Career highlights: One of the toughest defenders in the area, Filipowski had 113 ground balls, 36 takeaways and 24 interceptions … he also had 15 goals and 10 assists … named one of Section 9’s U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans for the second consecutive season … as a sophomore, Filipowski had 119 ground balls, 41 takeaways and 12 interceptions, along with one goal and two assists … has led Warwick to consecutive Section 9 Class A titles … Warwick was ranked No. 19 in the New York State Sportswriters Association poll on May 25, the first time a Class A team from Section 9 had ever been state-ranked.
Varsity845 Players of the Year
2015: Connor Filipowski, Warwick
2014: Joe Sessa, Minisink Valley
2013: Jake Levins, Minisink Valley
2012: Joe Sessa, Minisink Valley
2011: Jake Schof, Pine Bush
2010: Mike Grace, Warwick
2009: Tony Spada, Saugerties
2008: Drew Cook, Valley Central