Experienced Conway leads team
On the soccer field Katie Conway is rarely still, as she is constantly instructing other players.
The senior defender prides herself on hard work and as her career nears an end, she refuses to end it any other way.
“I hold myself accountable and to a high standard,” she said. “I want to go out knowing that I fought the hardest I could.”
She is a four-year starter and a captain in her final season.
She does not hold any CMU soccer records and rarely does she show on the box score. In fact, Conway has just one point in more than 70 games played.
However, Conway’s teammates and coaches say her impact to the team is felt deeper than statistics.
“She has really been a put your nose to the grindstone, hard working kid who has shown remarkable consistency,” said coach Mark Salisbury.
Conway was recruited by two Big Ten schools, Iowa and Wisconsin, but chose CMU instead. She said she wanted a program where she could play a big role on the team.
“(At Central) I felt I had a team and coaches that were really invested in the program,” Conway said.
Her role as a senior leader is magnified by her team’s youth. The Chippewas have 17 underclassmen and nine freshmen.
“(As a captain) everyone is looking up to you,” Conway said. “If you don’t show up every day or make yourself the example, then who are they going to learn from?”
When Conway went down with an injury during the fifth game of the season, she said she did not know what was going to happen to the team.
She injured her knee early on and still finished the game. It was not until afterwards that she knew she would miss considerable time.
“I have never been injured,” Conway said. “I had no clue what it would mean when I was hurt.”
After realizing she would miss three weeks, she knew her role would continue on to the sidelines.
She traveled with the team to every game and proved she could lead in more than one way.
“Katie handled it like a mature adult,” Salisbury said. “She switched roles and started cheering for her teammates and did everything she could to help her team get better.”
She returned Oct. 10 and has started each game since.
“She is a great player and has a good soccer mind,” said senior Jill Adams. “She brings to every practice what everyone needs to bring to a game.”
Her work ethic goes beyond the soccer field. This year she was the recipient of the Bill Boyden Leadership Award. It is presented to an athlete that combines participation in their sport with leadership in campus affairs and community involvement. Conway was the first women’s soccer player to receive the award.
“It was pretty overwhelming,” she said. “I was up against the most talented people, (men’s basketball player) Adam Dentlinger and (field hockey player) Katie Coccia, and they are such great people. It has meant so much to me and it is just now setting in.”
The old cliché, “playing each game as if it’s your last” is now a reality to Conway and her fellow seniors. A loss, and their careers are over.
“She makes sure that we fight and give everything we have because this is her last shot,” said freshman Amber Delvecchio.
If ever the team needs her experience, now is the time.
“When people start talking about who they look up to the most and who they would trust if they had something serious happen to them, I think that Katie would come to a lot of their minds,” Salisbury said.
