Panthers' Senior Lax Goalie Backbone of Undefeated Team

's senior lacrosse goalie Conor Fraylick is going to play at the next level at Fairfield University in the fall.

But before he heads off to the nutmeg state, he wants to accomplish something big.

“We want to make it to the section final,” Fraylick said. “We have gone to the semifinals the last two years. We’d like to get over the hump and make it into the finals. That’s our goal.”

Fraylick, who committed to Fairfield his junior year, has been outstanding so far in helping the Panthers win their first six games. He has averaged 11 saves and allowed just 3.5 goals per game.

One reason why Fraylick has been able to shine so far is because of his work ethic.

“Conor has worked long and hard on becoming a truly great goalie,” Pleasantville coach Bruce Reitenbach said. “This is his fourth year as our starting goalie. The first job of a goalie is to make saves and Conor makes great ones.”

Fraylick is able to make great saves because he knows how to put himself into position to stop the ball.

“Sometimes shooters are right on top of him, and he still gets his stick or body on the ball and makes the save,” Reitenbach said. “A big save can be a game changer and Conor has provided the team with many positive momentum shifts in his time as our goalie.”

Fraylick admits playing behind of a solid defense also has helped his game immensely. Playing in front of Fraylick are seniors Chris DiFabio, Kevin Connell, Mike Lynch and junior long-stick middie Zach Myers.

“You can’t replace them, they are clutch,” Fraylick said. “They always pressure the ball the way I want them to. I have been playing with them for four straight years now. They know my style and the way I like them to play. It’s awesome. They get ground balls. They do whatever they can to stop the ball.”

Once the ball is stopped, Fraylick excels in getting the ball up the field for the Panthers.

“Conor is also very good ‘out of the cage,’ meaning he clears the ball, from the defensive end of the field, very well,” Reitenbach said. “His outlet passes are dead-on accurate. He often puts the ball right in his teammates' sticks as they run away from our goal at full speed. He's mobile and rangy, and his size allows him to effectively deal with the riding attackmen who hound him on our clears.”

Besides the physical tools that Fraylick has, what also makes him a special goalie is he is a natural leader on the field.

“He's been the leader of our defense for the past three years,” Reitenbach said. “He barks out sliding assignments if our player guarding the ball were to be beaten. It gives the defense confidence and has been crucial to our defense's success.”

The success Fraylick has enjoyed while at Pleasantville will enable him to take advantage of the opportunities at Fairfield, a NCAA Division I school, in the fall.

“There were two schools I had in mind, Fairfield and Syracuse,” Fraylick said. “I visited them one weekend after another. The last weekend was at Fairfield, they made me an offer. I loved it, I loved the school, I loved everything about it. I couldn’t see myself anywhere else but there.”

Reitenbach said that having someone in his program like Fraylick is great because it gives the younger players in the community someone positive to look up to.

“The fact that he's going to be playing at a Division I program like Fairfield next year is really great for the program because all of the little kids playing in Pleasantville can see Conor out there playing in college, knowing that they, too, could perhaps have a great high school career like his,” Reitenbach said. “And maybe they, too, could get a scholarship to play college lacrosse, too.”

“And if all those kids can strive to even be half as intense as Conor, Pleasantville lacrosse will be well served,” Reitenbach added.

Do you know a kid, teen or group who has raised money for charity, scored the winning goal at the big game or regularly helps out in the community? We want to hear about it! Send your nominations for individuals, teams or groups of kids to sarah.studley@patch.com and they could be featured in an upcoming Whiz Kid column.