Conor Lanahan: Class L Loss Did Not Reflect Avon's Hard Work

With his last high school game behind him and only a semester left in Avon, senior and varsity soccer captain Conor Lanahan has found himself satisfied with his experience with his team at the end of his high school career.

"Even if we didn't play the best soccer, we still had a lot of fun playing with each other," Lanahan said. "I really enjoyed this year compared to last year."

This optimistic attitude combined with the enjoyment he feels in pushing himself on the field leaves him with no regrets and an enviable resume that includes honors such as making All New England, being named ESPN's "Player to Watch," and traveling to Buenos Aires to play against foreign teams.

He's not done yet, either. In addition to having around 20 more games to play with the Oakwood Soccer Club, Lanahan plans on attending Brandeis University next year and playing soccer there.

Lanahan started the sport in California, before moving to Connecticut as a kindergartener. He played basketball and baseball for awhile, but he chose to focus on soccer exclusively his freshman year at Avon High School due to time constraints. He made varsity at Avon High School in the middle of his sophomore year and was appointed as captain his senior year.

The Avon soccer team finished the year with a 15-4-1 record and made it to the finals before losing in the Class L state finals in Middletown to Bunnell High School. Still, Lanahan didn't let the 3-1 score get to him.

"Even though the scoreline didn't say it, I think we put up a good fight against Bunnell," he said. "We played a lot better than the scoreline showed."

Lanahan said that the team as a whole improved greatly this year, downplaying his own skills and instead complimenting the greater team-wide cohesiveness. In particular, he praised fellow senior teammate Drew Montano, who has scored the second highest amount of career goals and goals per season in Avon history. Lanahan himself scored six goals this fall.

"Throughout our midfield and in our center, backs and forwards, we had good players. Yeah, we had talent, and some kids were better than others, but together we were just good," he said.

Lanahan was a center midfielder at Avon High and plays both center and outside back for Oakwood, positions which he said allow him to read the game and take advantage of his defensive mindset. It's not about going forward, according to Lanahan, but counteracting what's coming against him on the field.

Beyond this, Lanahan said he doesn't have a very complicated approach to soccer. He just tries to play fast and get a good touch on the ball.

"I definitely want to win, especially playing for the high school with all my friends. It's really to have fun and share the moments with my teammates," Lanahan said. "The whole team has the mentality of 'play and do well,' and I think that doing that, having fun, and pushing yourself is what I like about it."

Off the field, Lanahan has made Honor Roll every high school semester and has taken two Advanced Placement math courses. He says that he truly enjoys his science courses and possesses a natural aptitude in math. While he's still undecided about his course of study in college, Lanahan said that he's considering majoring in science and minoring in business.

He has also done some coaching with kindergarteners and is a certified United States Soccer Federation referee with the Avon Soccer Club, but doesn't see himself pursuing a career in soccer after college.

"If I decided I wanted to go back to Oakwood, which is a good soccer club, and see what they could do for me... I guess it's there, but I don't see myself doing that," he said.

Ultimately, soccer, for Lanahan, is about enjoyment of the sport.

"I don't really think about the game too hard. I just go and play and try to do what I do well," Lanahan said. "For the finals, I was pumped up and everything, but I just love to play."