Looking Ahead
Shawnee senior Connor Winters is hoping to go from one winning program to another. This past fall Winters played a vital role in helping Shawnee go 21-2-1 and win the NJSIAA state Group 3 championship. The Renegades were the consensus No. 1 team in South Jersey. They also won the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Tournament, which included all the top teams from the area, and they captured the Olympic Conference American Division title. The American was the deepest division in South Jersey.
A midfielder who had 10 goals and nine assists this past season, Winters will continue his soccer career and education at Providence.
He will join a team that went 13-6-2 this past season and earned a NCAA tournament berth after advancing to the Big East tournament championship before losing 2-1 to Georgetown.
That earned an at-large NCAA bid. The Friars won their first NCAA game, 2-1 over Bucknell before being eliminated by Clemson, 2-0.
“Providence did really well this year, going to the NCAA tournament, winning the Big East regular season and advancing to the final in the postseason,” Winters said. “It’s a very prestigious program and they have been doing well for a long time, so it feels good to be going there.”
Winters made his commitment to Providence in August and so he didn’t have the pressures of recruiting entering his senior season.
“The day I made the choice, it was like a celebration, it was awesome,” he said. “The stress that you have going through the college process is so much, so to get it done and done that early felt really good.”
Winters’ senior year consisted of so many big performances in some of the most important games of the season.
For instance, he scored a hat trick in Shawnee’s 4-1 win over Moorestown in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. The next game in a 1-0 state Group 3 semifinal win over Long Branch he had the assist on the lone goal.
Earlier in the season he had a goal and an assist in Shawnee’s 2-0 win over Moorestown in a South Jersey Coaches Tournament semifinal.
He set the tone for the season with a goal and two assists in Shawnee’s opening day 5-0 win over Cherry Hill West.
“It feels great to accomplish all we did this past season, but we had the roster to do it, so we knew it was going to happen,” he said.
As an attacking midfielder for Shawnee, Winters constantly put pressure on opposing defenses. He looks to take this mindset to college as well.
“My job is to create chances, whether I am scoring or passing,” he said.
He created plenty in high school and is looking to do the same at the next level.
Photo: Connor Winters of Shawnee / Marc Narducci
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Author: Marc Narducci
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