Is Conway a Union Man?

By: Andrew | July 28th, 2009

Is this the face of the first Union goalkeeper? Just like the stadium in Chester, the foundation for the Union roster is under construction. And yet, there is not much visual, tangible evidence of any progress being made. The team takes the field in just under 8 months, a looming deadline that cannot be ignored.

So then, queue the rumors and speculation …

Some fans would like to see a marquee player signed first, with names such as Pavel Nedved, Andriy Shevchenko, and Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima [aka "Fat Ronaldo"]. Others would like a “feel good” story about a local lad who made it big coming home after a stint overseas. But Bobby Convey, currently playing for the Earthquakes, is under-performing and some could argue not worth the price tag. Hmm, I wonder then, are there any other Philadelphia natives currently unemployed with some Major League Soccer experience under their belt? How about Jon Conway?

Born in Aston, PA – just 10-15 minutes north of the stadium site – Conway played for the youth soccer club FC Delco followed by four years at Rutgers University. He was selected in the third round of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes, and was back-up to Joe Cannon until ‘03 when Cannon left to play in France. After a short spell on-loan with the Bay Area Seals, caused by a broken his ankle, he was traded to the MetroStars in ‘05 in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. The six-foot, six-inch, 215-lb. goalkeeper is 27-34-18 with a 1.39 GAA in his career.

Unfortunately there is a darker side to Conway’s career, one that’s not just all stats and numbers. In October of 2008, he was suspended for 10 matches and fined 10% of his annual salary [roughly $11,500] after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. This led to him being released by the Red Bulls in late June of 2009 to make room on the roster for Bouna Coundoul.

This hasn’t stopped Conway; he spent some time training with Chivas USA in early July and could potentially become a valuable back-up to Zach Thornton, another former Red Bull. And he hasn’t ruled out playing for Philadelphia. “… you never know. Hopefully I’ll still be playing well and get a chance to go down there. Who knows, you never know where the game’s going to take you.”

The team will probably not sign any players until November, around the time of this little thing known as the Expansion Draft. Rumors are just rumors. So who really knows if the whispers of Conway signing for the Union are legitimate, or just something to pass the time and add to our “silly season”? We can all be assured, however, that Peter Nowak and Josh Gros are working hard, looking at players from around the corner and around the globe who will play the game the Nowak-way, regardless of age, nationality, league experience, etc.