By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/31/15
John Nostrant called Drew Supinski the “engine all year” that helped drive the Haverford School lacrosse team.
And did he drive it far.
In 2015 the Fords went 26-0, won the Inter-Ac League title and the Inter-Ac Challenge and finished No. 1 in every national poll/rankings, holding the spot for most of the year.
The team had many standouts, but the most versatile and most valuable was senior midfielder Supinski, the Phillylacrosse.com 2015 Player of the Year.
Supinski, who is playing at Johns Hopkins University, was a US Lacrosse All-American, Under Armour All-American and the Co-Most Important Player in the Inter-Ac League. He scored 53 goals and had 52 groundballs, but it was more his leadership, clutch play and dirty work that made him so important to the Fords.
“Drew was the engine all year,” said Nostrant. “He was one of our toughest kids and could play physical, and also with finesse. He could get on attack off the face-off and play anywhere in the midfield, and he even was one of the best d-middies.
“He played a very instrumental leadership role – he was quiet. He was not a rah-rah guy, but everyone looked to him.”
Supinski did not disappoint.
He had key goals and key plays at the right time for a team that opened with wins over MIAA powers St. Paul’s, McDonogh, Loyola Blakefield and Gilman; and also topped such powers as IMG Academy FL), St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), Brunswick School (CT). The Fords closed with a 15-9 win over Hun School (N.J.) in the Inter-Ac Invitational final and a 13-9 come-from-behind conquest of Culver Academy (IN) in the 26-0 clincher.
Supinski scored three goals in the second half of the Hun School win and had two key goals to spark the comeback win over Culver, but there were many more clutch moments.
“The biggest thing was that the players bought into what the coaches told us,” said Supinski. “We all knew we had so much talent on the team, but we knew if we looked ahead we would slip up. When we beat IMG and Brunswick, I was still just thinking that I wanted to win the league; I didn’t think we really could do this (go undefeated).
“My role was to do whatever I had to do to get the win. We had such great players this year that anyone was able to step up. We were pretty hard to defend. We were really consistent as a team and within that I tried to help out my team any way I could.”
Supinski looks back on the 2015 season as a magical ride where a team of stars jelled as one with a common cause.
“I think the great thing about this team was that we had no egos,” he said. “No one cared about their own stats; their goal was for the greater good of the team.
“It’s something we will all remember forever. After the first half of the Culver game, we were a little shaken (The Fords were trailing, 6-3), but we knew there was nothing to worry about.
“We had been down so many times and we just had to play our game. It was an awesome testament to how good the season was, that we end up coming back like that.”
Later today: The 2015 Girls’ Co-Players of the Year
