D'Arcy Motors Athlete of the Week: Conner Shaw, Morris boys soccer

Morris boys soccer player Conner Shaw had a week to remember, as he scored 11 goals and had three assists in the Redskins’ four games.

Shaw, a senior, had five goals in the season-opening 8-0 win against Kankakee, then added three more goals and an assist in a 7-1 win over Kewanee. In the Earlville Tournament, he helped lead Morris to a second-place finish as he had two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Earlville and had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to Rochelle in the title game.

MHN: Have you scored five goals in a game?

Shaw: Maybe back in a youth rec league game. I know [Morris] Coach [David] Valdivia told me that it was a school record for goals by one person in a game.

MHN: Word gets around. Now that teams have heard that you are scoring a lot of goals, will you change the way you play if they concentrate more on you?

Shaw: I am just going to go out there and play my game and so is everyone else on the team. We want to be the team that other teams have to adapt to. We don’t want to adapt to anyone else.

MHN: You have 11 goals in four games. The school record in a season is 32. Is that in the back of your mind?

Shaw: I guess it’s in the back of my mind. My main goal as far as records go is to do better than I have in the past. I just want to get better every year. But, if it is between me getting the record and the team winning, I want the team to win.

MHN: How have you been able to score so many goals?

Shaw: It’s all because of my teammates. I am the center forward, so the way we play, the ball usually comes to me. Our defenders have done a good job of getting the ball, and our midfielders get it to the forwards. I just happen to be at the end and knock it in. It’s like being a running back in football. They score the touchdowns, but there is work done in front of them by other guys. It takes everyone working together.