100-Point Scorer Was Never About the Numbers

To College of Wooster senior Brian Conaway, there is no such thing as being the best. Whether it’s scoring a goal in a soccer match or solving a quadratic equation, there is always going to be someone out there better at it. This philosophy turned him into a driven athlete, continually training and working to improve his skills, and as a result, the awards, statistics, and victories have piled up, making him one of the greatest soccer players in Wooster history.

Conaway, who netted what were then records for goals (41) and points (113) at Cleveland suburb Twinsburg High School, was heavily recruited by colleges throughout Ohio and nearby states. He even received a full-ride offer from Pfeiffer University, a small NCAA Div. II school in North Carolina, but ultimately it came down to two schools in the North Coast Athletic Conference – Ohio Wesleyan University and Wooster.

The Battling Bishops had history on their side, having won the Div. III national championship in men’s soccer in 1998 and four consecutive conference titles up to that point. Conaway, however, was looking for something more.

“Wooster was better academically and I valued education over soccer in the long run,” he explained.

So, the Twinsburg Tiger traded in his stripes for a kilt in the fall of 2002, though, not without some trepidation. He had dominated competition at the high school level, but didn’t know what to expect in his first year as a Scot.

“I was scared coming in as a freshman,” said Conaway. “Everyone else had been there before and I was intimated.”

The intimidation wore off pretty fast, as Conaway exploded onto the Div. III scene, earning not only NCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors but also the NCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year award after scoring 10 goals. He helped the Scots to an unbeaten record his freshman campaign, rising to as high as No. 2 in the national rankings before they were eliminated in penalty kicks by Ohio Wesleyan in the NCAC Tournament semifinals and then passed over by the selection committee for the NCAA Div. III Tournament, which would develop into an all too common theme for Wooster.

Despite the disappointing end to his rookie season, Conaway’s career took off from there, piling up goals and assists on the Scots’ back-to-back NCAC co-championship teams, which finished with overall records of 12-3-3 in 2003 and 13-3 in 2004, however, they were again left on the outside looking in when it came to the national tourney.

This past season, more than any other, was a true test of Conaway’s worth, as he was the clear leader of a freshmen- and sophomore-oriented squad. The previous graduating class had taken with it eight starters and 11 letterwinners, but the Scot senior didn’t panic.

“I really wasn’t worried about this season,” commented Conaway. “I saw the recruits and helped bring them in, so I knew what they were capable of.”

Conaway put a lot of pressure on himself at first, realizing he was going to be the main offensive weapon. Opponents realized this as well, often sending two or even three defenders to mark him. Eventually, however, things panned out under the guidance of 11th-year head coach Graham Ford and long-time assistant Wayne Jentas.

“The coaches told me to relax and to stop thinking about it,” Conaway said.

With several underclassmen stepping up, Conaway was able to play his game and Wooster thrived, winning nine of its first 12 matches (9-1-2). Though the Scots went 0-2-2 over the last four to miss the NCAC tourney, the season was still a success, considering the experience and confidence gained by the freshmen and sophomores as a result of the faith put on them by their leader.

“(Brian) was a consummate team player. To him, it was all about winning and not the stats. He was always thinking about how to win the game,” added Ford.

Despite not being overly concerned about his numbers, Conaway racked up 104 career points in 68 games (1.53 ppg) to become the third all-time leading scorer in Wooster history, only behind the legendary Ian Banda (177) and Key Akintunde (139). He also ranks behind those two in goals with 43.

In terms of awards, Conaway was tabbed the NCAC Player of the Year three seasons. Only Banda won it more times in the history of the conference, earning it every year from 1987-90. Conaway also became just the third player in NCAC history to earn first-team all-league honors all four seasons, joining Banda and Kenyon’s Marshall Chapin (1990-93), and he was first-team all-region three times. Recently, Conaway picked up the capstone honor of his stellar career, as he was named to the Div. III All-America Team for 2005, just the second Scot to garner national recognition since 1992.

Ford describes Conaway as the best finisher he’s seen on the Div. III level during his 15 years of coaching, and also that he never let it go to his head.

“People who watched him thought he had an edge,” Ford stated. “He was confident about his abilities, but he’s always known his limitations and knows he can improve.”

That attitude carries over into his academic and social life, as Conaway effectively balanced soccer with everything else. The computer science major was selected to the Academic All-District Team twice.

Now, he is currently completing an independent study entitled “Fuzzy Logic and Autonomous Robot Navigation,” which involves programming a robot to go through a maze by adjusting to environmental conditions. Conaway will receive his bachelor’s degree in May and then plans to work in the computer field for a year or two, likely as a programmer, before pursuing a master’s degree in software engineering.

By Corey Jewart