One Knox SC rookie Eli Conway didn't record an official goal in his first 11 matches. Now, he has three in the last month, including a game-winner at AV Alta FC to earn three points for his club and a spot on the USL Team of the Week.
His three goals on the season are tied for fourth-most on a One Knox team trying to find more consistent goal production. The Knoxville soccer club - which returns to Covenant Health Park at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 against FC Naples - has hit a lull with just two wins in its last nine matches.
Conway's contributions have come at the right time for the defending USL League One champions in their playoff push. But the first-year attacker hasn't suddenly changed who he is. He's found success by waiting his turn.
"Throughout
the entirety of the season, I've just been patient," Conway told Knox News. "Just waiting on my opportunity to come."
Eli Conway took advantage the last time he was on the pitch
Conway's latest opportunity came Sept. 5 at AV Alta. He entered in the 68th minute, but his shift didn't get off to a smooth start. His cleats could not get a grip on the field.
He was slipping, his first touch wasn't where he wanted it to be, and he wasn't making the impact he expected. Then, assistant coach James Thomas called him over.
"Just drive at them and create," Conway recalled the coach saying. "Make something happen."
Conway took the instruction on his next touch. He exchanged passes with teammates, took one touch around a defender and found space in front of him. He had just one thought: "I'm going to bang this."
He cut onto his left foot and found the back of the net in the second minute of stoppage time to help One Knox to its first win since Aug. 8. The goal was just the latest payoff for a rookie who spent much of the season waiting for his chance, and learning patience doesn't mean standing still.
Coming from college into professional soccer, Conway entered a different environment. Players were competing for jobs, and playing time wasn't guaranteed. A rookie could spend months waiting for an opportunity while proving in training that he deserved one.
Conway showed up each time.
"He's hungry," One Knox head coach Ian Fuller told Knox News. "You see it in his eyes."
The rookie was tested early in his career
Just seven matches into his first professional season, Conway's patience was tested against Charlotte Independence. In the 13th minute of the match, Conway sent a ball off the left post, ricocheting off a Charlotte defender and into the net.
He didn't get credit for the goal, leaving Conway without an official tally. Still, the rookie's preparedness gave him more opportunities.
"Players choose themselves based on what they're doing and their ability," Fuller said. "And he's chosen himself."
Fuller's belief was vindicated in One Knox's historic win over D.C. United in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Conway played 58 minutes as a substitute, as Knoxville went on to win in penalty kicks.
"He didn't look out of place at all," Fuller said. "Physically, he was almost superior to those guys, and that's a big step up."
His play in the historic upset win slotted him into a starting role against the MLS' Columbus Crew in the round of 16. But Conway's path wasn't completely linear.
Then, Conway was forced to see the game from the sidelines
Just as Conway looked to be hitting his stride, play halted for the 22-year-old.
Conway only played 34 minutes against Columbus before subbing out. The rookie injured his hamstring and quad simultaneously, something Fuller said he'd "never seen before."
That forced the ambitious attacker into a different role: watching from afar. With the World Cup also in full swing, Conway's patience was tested in a different way with the game taken away from him.
"Being away from the game," he said, "it definitely makes you miss the game a lot more."
His family kept his mind in check. Conway missed four matches while recovering from the injury. He spent a full month away from the team, but it gave him an opportunity to return to FAU, walk at graduation and catch up with family and friends.
"I stayed patient through it all," Conway said. "I just trusted the process and knew that if I keep working hard, that I would get back to the form I was in."
The form didn't come immediately, he said. Conway returned to the pitch June 20, playing six minutes off the bench. He spent four of the next five matches as a substitute, and didn't touch the field in the other until it took a turn for the better.
Conway has hit flow state, and does not plan to 'leave it anytime soon'
Conway has earned his chance to shine in the back half of the season.
When One Knox returned home to face Sarasota on Aug. 8, Conway was in the starting lineup for the first time post-injury. And he proved why he was deserving of the spot.
In the 52nd minute of a nil-nil game, Conway netted the first official goal of his career. It was a "sigh of relief" for the professional who'd waited through injury to find the back of the net.
"I saw that was my moment," Conway said. "And I was able to take it."
Fuller noticed it, too. Conway was getting fitter. He was playing longer stretches, logging two 90-minute outings and three starts since. He was pushing himself to hold onto his spot. And the goals kept coming, scoring three times in the last five matches he's played in.
"When you're in the zone, like he feels like he is," Fuller said, "then it's my job to stand out of his way."
Conway's most recent goal was the first game-winner he believes he's scored since his club soccer days. It earned him a USL Team of the Week honor. And while Conway appreciates the recognition, his eyes are focused on the next opportunity: earning three points against FC Naples.
"Once you get in that flow state, there's no stopping that," Conway said. "I feel like that's what I'm in right now, and I don't think I'm going to leave it anytime soon."
Trevor McGee covers the Knoxville Smokies and One Knox SC for Knox News. Email: trevor.mcgee@knoxnews.com; X: @TrevorMcGee12
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Match day at Covenant Health Park
Match time: 7 p.m. Sept. 11 vs. FC Naples (gates open at 5:30 p.m.)
One Knox record: 12-5-7
USL League One standings: One Knox enters tonight’s match in fourth place with 43 points, while FC Naples (8-14-2) sits in 11th place with 26 points.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Finding his 'flow state' made rookie Eli Conway a top scorer One Knox SC performer
