Conway top player
In just his second year as a forward, Chesterton senior Seth Conway set Trojans’ single-season record for goals
Chesterton’s Seth Conway is the 2019 Post-Tribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
The summer before his junior season, Chesterton’s Seth Conway half-jokingly asked coach Lucas Sabedra about the possibility of playing forward.
Conway, who grew up primarily as a right defender, just had made a similar move in club soccer when that team needed a player upfront.
Sabedra was somewhat skeptical. But after he saw the rate at which Conway was scoring during summer training, the decision was made.
Conway, Sabedra and the Trojans haven’t looked back.
Conway, the 2019 PostTribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year, authored two stellar seasons at forward. As a senior this season, for a program that has produced an array of talented players, he set a team record with 28 goals and tied the record for assists with 16.
“Everyone recognized the kind of year he had,”
Sabedra said. “He stepped up to a different level. He really defined himself as a goal scorer and creator. People were nervous to play against him.”
Conway eclipsed the previous mark of 27 goals, set in 2016 by Owen Hallas, who was named the state player of the year that season and the Mental Attitude Award winner as Chesterton reached the Class 2A state final. Conway had 18 goals and eight assists last season as the Trojans went undefeated and won the Class 3A state title.
Conway’s performances consistently had the coaches looking at each other.
“We started realizing he was a goal scorer when he started scoring goals and how he was scoring goals — simple when needing to be or jaw-dropping game-winners,” Sabedra said.
Though the Trojans (171-2) lost 2-0 to Northridge in a regional semifinal this season, having scored a program-record 96 goals to surpass the 74 from 2013, Conway was proud of their achievements.
He actually broke his right hand when he crashed into a fence surrounding the field with 4:44 left against Northridge, but he returned in the second half with a sleeve on his arm and his last two fingers taped together.
“Our team stayed together, and we did really well,” Conway said. “To lose one game in two years with my seniors, that’s pretty good.
“The scoring record was one of my goals from junior year when I started playing striker. It means a lot because we’ve had a lot of great players. I worked hard and completed that goal.”
Conway’s development as a player and an increased focus on lifting weights and conditioning led to him becoming bigger, stronger and faster this season. That latter element wasn’t lost on Sabedra.
“I don’t know where it came from, but his speed came on like crazy,” Sabedra said. “He wasn’t necessarily before, but he became one of the fastest kids on the team, even with the ball. It was pretty wild to see that change in one year.”
After playing as a defender on the junior varsity team as a freshman, Conway moved up to varsity as a sophomore.
That season, he also occasionally played as a midfielder, with Sabedra seeing additional glimpses of his skill.
“He’s always been a technical player, and he just continued to evolve and grow,” Sabedra said. “Then he started becoming ‘that guy.’
“He completely changed as a player, and looking at the next level, those are the kind of players you want because you have to have dynamic players who can play almost any position. He’s someone who has a lot of potential to play at the next level.”
Whether Conway plays in college is uncertain. He’s interested in pursuing a career as a commercial pilot, and schools with such aviation programs are limited.
“I’d like to play, but we’ll have to see what happens,” Conway said. “I’m still looking around.”