Paul James Conway (born April 17, 1970) is a retired American

soccer player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He spent five seasons in the English lower divisions before returning to the United States. In 2001, he was the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

leading goal scorer and MVP. Conway is also the all-time leading scorer for the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

with whom he played from 1998 to 2004.

High school and college

Conway, son of former

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

midfielder Jimmy Conway, grew up in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, attending Jesuit High School where he played on the school's soccer team. He then attended

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

. He played on the Hartwick men's soccer team from 1988 to 1991. In 1989, he was a third-team All-American. Conway finished his four season at Hartwick with forty-six career goals.

Professional

In 1989, while still in college, Conway spent the summer playing with

F.C. Portland FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

in the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

.1989 Portland Timbers
/ref> After college, he played for the

Brooklyn Italians Brooklyn Italians is an American soccer team based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1949, the team last played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the Ameri ...

in the

Cosmopolitan Soccer League The Cosmopolitan Soccer League is a regional soccer league consisting of semi-pro and amateur teams based in and around New York City. Established in 1923, it is one of the oldest soccer leagues in the United States and has contributed greatly ...

. In 1993, Conway signed with Carlisle United of the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

. During his four seasons with Carlisle, Conway and his team mates bounced between the second and third divisions. In 1997, Conway moved to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on a free transfer. He failed to settle into the first team and was sent on loan to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. In 1998, Conway returned to the United States and signed with

in the second division USL A-League. He spent seven seasons with the Battery. His best year with the team came in 2001 when he led the league in both goals and points, earning both first-team All-Star and MVP honors. On May 20, 2005, the

signed Conway. He played one season, scoring a single goal in thirteen games, and was released at the end of the season.

Honors

;with Carlisle United *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

champion: 1994–95 *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

winner: 1996–1997 *

third place promotion winner: 1996–97

References

External links

Charleston Battery profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Paul 1970 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Brooklyn Italians players Soccer players from Portland, Oregon Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players Western Soccer Alliance players Portland Timbers (1985–1990) players Carlisle United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Charleston Battery players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players English Football League players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Association football forwards American people of Irish descent