Conestoga’s Chris Donovan is Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week
Donovan finished his legendary soccer career at Conestoga by scoring all four of the Pioneers’ goals in their 4-0 win against Hempfield in the PIAA 4A state championship final at Hershey. He wound up scoring 56 goals this season, more than doubling the school’s single-season record, and tallied 15 of the 16 goals scored by Conestoga (25-0-1) in its final seven post-season games. The Drexel University-bound senior and Central League MVP clearly has the clutch touch – last fall, he scored the game’s only goal in Conestoga’s 1-0 win in the PIAA 4A state championship final against Elizabethtown. He finished his Conestoga career with 81 goals (a school record), and tallied a school-record nine hat tricks this fall.
Q: In the state final against Hempfield, did you have any inkling in the pre-game warmups that this was going to be a special game for you?
A: I had no idea that I was going to have the kind of game I ended up having. In warm-ups I was having difficulty hitting the target and I was worried that I was going to have one of those games where I couldn’t do what I wanted with the ball at my feet.
Q: Tell us a little about the first goal you scored in the state final, how the play developed, and your role in it.
A: The first goal was the most important to me because it was the goal that took some of the pressure off ours shoulders and it was great to get it so early in the game. We had a deep throw in, it was headed away by their defenders, but Logan Schwartz won it back and volleyed a looping cross into the box, just allowing me to out-jump their defender and goalkeeper and put the ball into the back of the open net. Logan did exactly what I was hoping he would, just giving me a chance to make something happen in the air since I was being man-marked all over the field. It was a fitting goal because it’s the type of goal I’m most proud to score. I am often punished by goalkeepers when I try to win 50/50 balls over them, but every once in a while, it pays off because I get a goal.
Q: Tell us a little about your fourth and final goal of the night. What was your first reaction when the ball went in the net and you realized you had four goals on the night?
A: When I was played the ball I knew I was one on one with their last defender and I wanted to get into a position to score. I beat their defender, but by the time I had done that, another defender had gotten back, so I took it around him toward the middle of the field. As soon as I hit the shot I knew it was going in and I was simply shocked that I had my best game of the season in the most important game for me and the rest of the team.
Q: What does it mean to you to be an integral part of a team that has won back-to-back state championships?
A: It means everything to me to be on both teams that won the State Championship. It cements everyone that has been on the team for both years as legends in Conestoga soccer, but I’m very proud to have played such important roles both years.
Q: Last year, when asked what you thought was the strongest part of your game, you mentioned “off-ball movement” and said you needed to work on your finishing skills. This fall, you scored 56 goals for Conestoga. What part of your game are you currently working on the most?
A: I’m still working on my finishing. I feel like I have improved since last year, being less wasteful with my chances and trying to finish most of the chances I get, but I want to keep improving to be able to finish in situations where the goal keeper may be favored over me to make a save. Luckily I have teammates that provide me with so many scoring opportunities that I can still score plenty of goals without being as ruthless a finisher as I would like. The part I have improved the most is finishing in the air. I scored somewhere close to half of my goals off crosses, which is a big change from last year.
Q: What did it mean to you to receive the Central League MVP Award?
A: Being named Central League MVP was one of my goals coming into the season. I knew that being the top scorer in the league would go a long way toward achieving that goal, but I knew that it would take more than that, by impressing the Central League coaches with off the ball movement and unselfishness as well. I’m very proud to represent the Central League as the MVP.
Q: What is your favorite class at Conestoga? What do you think you might like to major in at Drexel? Is there a career path that particularly interests you at the present time?
A: My favorite class was a class I took last year. Coach Z [Conestoga boys’ soccer head coach David Zimmerman] was my teacher for AP Psych and I learned so many interesting things in that class, and Z made it even more fun than it would normally be because of very creative class activities. I don’t know what I want to do at Drexel, but hopefully something in particular will catch my eye sometime soon.
Fun facts – Chris Donovan
Favorite athlete: Phillipe Coutinho.
Favorite team: Liverpool.
Pregame meal: Mashed potatoes.
Family members: parents Karen and Dave, younger sister Caitlin.
(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)
