Skylar Conway broke onto the MAAC scene this week, winning his first honor: Rookie of the Week.
Coming off a tough loss to Rider, the Red Foxes were in need of a bounce back after falling to 1-1 in conference play. Freshman Skylar Conway propelled the Foxes during the week helping them earn a win against Iona, where he picked up a goal and an assist. Against Siena, he showed off his talents once again, burying a goal to lead the Red Foxes to their biggest victory of the season, shutting the Saints out 3-0.
Conway is a 5’8” freshman two-way midfielder from Mount Olive, N.J. He possesses a great work rate and brings a tremendous amount of skill to the table. He thrives in one-on-one situations and uses his agility along with elusiveness to turn and burst away from defenders. A smooth passer of the ball and has the ability to finish as well.
“This is big for me,” said Conway in regard to his achievement. “It is a hard task to fulfill being the new guy on campus trying to get used to how everyone else on the team plays.”
Conway was staying committed to his preparation throughout the early stages of the season and was looking forward to some break out games. He never envisioned being Rookie of the Week, he just wanted to go out there and put on good performances to help the Foxes’ win.
Head Coach Matt Viggiano is seeing Conway progressively find his way early on, despite the inherent difficulties that come with being a freshman.
“It is night and day,” said Viggiano when talking about Skylar’s transition from top youth academies to Division 1 soccer. “He’s starting to see success now so we are happy.”
Conway’s youth credentials speak for themselves as he has excelled playing for the New York Red Bulls Development Academy that was ranked #1 in the nation last year, PDA Rooney, and the Mount Olive High School team.
“He has been working hard since day one,” said Viggiano in reference to Conway’s talents being reflected on and off the field. “We are pretty happy for him he is a great kid, always smiling and gets along well with everybody on the team, it is fun to be around him.”
The Red Foxes went to Monmouth for another conference matchup this past week and Conway dramatically helped the team complete a come from behind victory with the game-winning assist in double overtime.
Conway’s sights are now set on taking down the Manhattan College Jaspers this Saturday at home in a high table MAAC matchup.
Edited by Marco Schaden and Oscar Fick