On Evan Conway's USL journey
How the forward went from a tryout to his 50th career USL goal
A first touch on the left foot to control.
A juke to the right to open up a shot.
A right-footed curler through traffic to beat multiple defenders – goal.
That’s how Evan Conway scored his 50th career USL goal last Saturday, and it’s emblematic of the plays that make him a special talent week in and week out.
Now in his sixth professional season, Conway has played from coast to coast and embodied the broader aims of the USL’s developmental pipeline. He’s stood out at the League Two level, won a trophy in League One, and continues to excel in the Championship. Getting to that 50-goal milestone is a perfect time to reflect on Conway’s journey and the factors that’ve made him one of the best forwards in the USL.
The first thing to know about Conway? For his manager, North Carolina FC head coach and sporting director John Bradford, it’s his team-first mentality. Said Bradford: “I hope he gets 50 more goals, and I know he wants to get 50 more, but I think he’d trade out all that to make sure that the team is being successful.”
That’s par for the course with Conway. He scores, yes, but it’s everything else – the work rate, mentality, teamwork, and relationships – that set him apart.
Now 27 years old, Evan Conway was born in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and stayed local by attending the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for college. As a Panther, Conway scored at least six times in each of his four seasons and ultimately contributed to 44 career goals at the NCAA level.
Even while excelling in college, Conway wasn’t necessarily focused on making a leap into a pro career. Instead, he used the opportunity to play from day one as a Panther to improve with each passing year; there’s a reason his shot totals and assist numbers both peaked during his senior season at Milwaukee.
”I didn't have a ton of guidance in high school and club soccer,” recalled Conway. “There was no thought of, like, ‘I need to go to this school because then I can be a professional.’ It was really none of that. My club coach ended up being my college coach. He recruited me. But I think the reason why it was so beneficial for me to stay local and do it with a mid-major college was that I was starting as a freshman. I needed that playing experience more than anything else.”
Conway described that period as a character-building era, and before his senior season he sought out a new opportunity: playing in USL League Two.
The frame of reference for League Two in the minds of most American soccer fans is probably the Des Moines Menace, who’ve stolen headlines because of their star-studded recruitment in the US Open Cup. That couldn’t be further from the standard, in truth. League Two runs from May through August each year, and squads are primarily composed of college players looking to stay sharp during the NCAA offseason. More than 140 clubs participate in the competition, which is regionalized until a climactic national playoff round.
League Two has been an important building block for innumerable American prospects over the years – including rookies like Adam Luckhurst and Ahmad Al-Qaq for North Carolina this season – and it proved equally vital for Evan Conway.
“When I talk to college kids now, I pitch USL Two so hard,” he explained. “Especially in my case, I grew up in Milwaukee. I went to college in Milwaukee. It was really all I knew except for youth tournaments outside of the area. Exposure to guys who were looking to be professionals, things like that, were pretty foreign to me.”
The Wisconsin native played for the Ventura County Fusion during his League Two stint, starring alongside current pro standouts like Freddy Kleemann and Alex Lara. He cited their advice, getting a new set of eyes on his game, as a major developmental building block.
Spending the summer of 2019 in the Los Angeles metro – and scoring nine goals in 12 matches while there – opened Conway’s eyes to broader possibilities in the sport.
“I got around a whole new group of guys… and figured out ‘okay, I think I'm at this level and I think this is something that's achievable for me,’” said Conway. “My only regret is that I didn't do it earlier.”
John Bradford, the head coach and sporting director at North Carolina FC, is a believer in League Two’s utility. In his mind, it’s a terrific tool for internal development and assessment that’s largely undervalued across the rest of the USL.
“Obviously, our club believes in it, and we've competed at the USL Two level for many years,” the manager said. “We look at it as an intertwined component of our club's pathway, a really good opportunity to be able to evaluate players over the summertime and see if they would be good fits for us…we find incredible value with it.”
Much as NCFC is focused on League Two as more of a club-specific platform, Conway’s standout performances with Ventura County didn’t garner pro offers. His pathway to a contract with Union Omaha was a result of kismet as much as anything else.
“I didn't really have [interest from] Forward Madison, which you would think since it’s right there. I had no communication with them,” Conway remembered. “One of my college coaches knew Jay Mims – they were former teammates – and I showed up to a college trial with 40 other kids. I almost missed my flight, I was banging on the gate of the door and the guy let me in.”
He continued: “On my way back from the trial, Jay drove me to the airport. It was right away like, ‘hey, we want to sign you,’ and I was like, ‘yeah, let's do it!’ At that time, you're just out of college. You're not negotiating contracts. You're doing none of that. You're like, ‘yeah, sure, sign me up!’”
Conway started Omaha’s first-ever match in the summer of 2020, which came after a lengthy delay because of the coronavirus pandemic. Though the forward led Omaha with six goals and his side finished second in the League One table, there was room for improvement.
At a team-wide level, year one was a learning experience. Omaha might’ve finished with a league-best xG margin of plus-0.54 per 90 minutes, but Mims and co. were willing to experiment along the way. Their rookie talisman embodied that feeling-things-out sensibility.
“I felt like I was picking it up quickly and embracing the level,” Conway explained. “There was a little uncertainty, but it was also nice that it was a new team. It was a bunch of fresh faces. There was none of ‘this guy's a vet, he plays here,’ and it was just all randomness. If you played well, you would get in the lineup.”
2021 was a breakout year for Union Omaha as an organization and Conway as a player. Whereas the forward often came off the left wing as a rookie, his sophomore campaign featured more of a pure No. 9’s deployment. Conway and the newly-signed Greg Hurst became one of League One’s best-ever strike duos, and both players hit the double-digit goal mark.
The rest of the USL ecosystem – John Bradford included – began to take note.
Recalled Bradford: “Omaha that year was a strong team, and I think he was a huge part of it. [Evan’s] ability to create his own shots, to do it with athleticism and quality in terms of finishing, finding ways to score different types of goals was what stood out. I wasn't familiar with him in his college career, so that was the introduction for us.”
It’s no coincidence that Omaha took a leap given the quality of their additions. Signings like Hurst, midfielder Conor Doyle, and attacker Nick Firmino did wonders to elevate the roster, and Mims was able to combine the new faces into a coherent whole centered around a top-of-the-line strike pair.
“That team was full of guys who are really doing well in the Championship,” concurred Conway. “Yes, it was our sophomore season and we were gelling a little bit more, but it's also that we had some really quality players. To Jay's credit, we played in a way that let us show our talents and let the guys have some freedom.”
Conway and teammates like Hurst, JP Scearce, Daltyn Knutson, and Illal Osumanu excelled with that added freedom and continue to make their mark at the second-division level. Beyond the glory of winning a title, the long legacy of the 2021 Omaha team is as a proof of concept for the League One-to-Championship pipeline – a pipeline that North Carolina has taken unique advantage of.
“Our experience tells us that we have to value League One,” Bradford said. “The biggest thing is finding players that haven't hit their ceiling yet, players that can get in and can do a job for you but can actually continue to improve, adapt, and get better.”
Improving and adapting was the name of the game for Conway as he made the jump to the San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship in 2022. Bradford noted that players skillful enough to move up the pyramid are “probably a one-or-two-per-club type of thing” in League One, and it was Conway’s flexibility just as much as his talent that allowed him to stick in San Diego.
“I started working with an agency that set me up with San Diego, and I chatted with them throughout the whole second season in Omaha,” said the forward, recalling the courting process. “The city and Landon [Donovan] were both really big pulls for me. They brought me a good offer, it was in the Championship, and it felt like a no-brainer.”
Still, the step up required patience.
Loyal were entering their third season of USL play at the time and already had an established core. Conway entered the mix alongside other standouts like Nick Moon, Charlie Adams, and tenured English striker Kyle Vassell. Manager Landon Donovan wasn’t going to be giving out minutes unless they were earned.
“I remember getting into San Diego in the first week of training, and there was already a set XI. I got in there and was riding high off a good year in Omaha like I'm just gonna walk into the starting lineup, but that wasn't the case,” Conway said. “It was a good moment for me to ground myself a little bit and be like, alright, we're at another level. We had some really good players. Kyle Vassell comes to mind – I mean, I was gonna struggle to compete with that guy for sure.”
Conway earned some time up top, but his breakthrough came when he moved to the left wingback spot within Donovan’s back-three system. The then-24-year-old still cameoed as an attacking player, but the flexibility allowed him to pick up more than 2,000 minutes in his first Loyal campaign.
“I had to keep my head down and do what I was doing to find my way into the lineup,” he said. “When we were playing Phoenix away, my buddy [and defender] Jack Metcalf got injured, and I ended up playing, like, eighty-five minutes and scoring my first goal.”
That experience in a deeper position helped Conway grow as a player. Yes, he scored nine goals in San Diego in 2022, but he also improved his dribble success (53%) and duel win (51%) rates even as compared to his production in League One. The change in role allowed Conway to become a more complete weapon in multiple areas of the pitch.
“I think that it helped me in that middle third, and that's something going back to college that my coaches have been talking to me about,” he explained. “Keeping possession in that middle part of the field is sneakily important, which I was overlooking as a forward. [Changing positions] did a lot for me as far as seeing the game a little better. In those moments that seem mundane, how do you continue to move the ball and keep the ball?”
Conway played as a forward more often in 2023, scoring 10 times in what proved to be the Loyal’s final season. As he and his teammates sought out new opportunities within the league, North Carolina was preparing for a big change of their own, moving back up the USL Championship after winning a title in League One.
Bradford, meanwhile, had kept tabs on Conway after he moved on from Union Omaha. Initially, the attention took on more of an academic aspect.
“I was more curious, just as a soccer person, with how Evan would do making the jump,” the coach said. “Following Evan…it was good to see him be able to have maybe not exactly the same production, but close to it – and with some versatility. He played a little bit of wingback. He played in different positions. Still, I think he's always been, in my mind, an attacking player that fits in that front three.”
Guaranteeing a deployment at striker was a key part of the sales pitch to bring Conway to Cary, but the fit made sense on multiple levels.
The attacker cited a desire to see the country and spend time in the Southern part of the United States as one factor. Linking back up with former San Diego teammate Colin Martin – and echoing what Koke Vegas and Grant Stoneman had done by moving as a pair to Rhode Island – was also attractive. The icing on the cake? An instant connection with Coach Bradford.
“I liked John off the bat. We didn't have that many talks, but I did my research. I asked people around and said, ‘what do you think of John?’ People really liked him,” said Conway. “That's important, as important as anything, having a coach that people enjoy. Is he a good person? Is he fair?”
When he arrived at WakeMed Soccer Park, Conway was one of the Championship veterans in the room. Bradford notes that he “immediately garnered respect from players making the jump for the first time themselves” and stood out by “leading by example throughout” the season.
“Evan's not a super vocal, ‘yelling and corralling the guys’ type,” Bradford continued. “He leads by example, and he holds himself to a high standard. When he screws up, he recognizes it, and he has no issues in admitting it. I think he leads by that example and less of, you know, a ‘rah rah’ traditional way.”
The forward’s experience was key to building chemistry in a team that ultimately finished in eight place in the East while posting one of the USL’s top-ten goal differences.
“I think it helped, the fact that I was just in their shoes. I had done the San Diego jump, and they were in the process of that same jump,” Conway posited. “They had a good crew of guys that stuck around, and they're a tight knit group. There was a part of me that was like, ‘I don't know if they're gonna accept me, take to me.’ And to their credit, they pretty quickly did.”
Conway’s numbers have remained consistently elite since moving up to the Championship and specifically to the Tar Heel State. He’s ranked in the 92nd percentile or better for xG per 90 in every year since 2021. Conway’s debut season in North Carolina saw him post a career-high 13.3 total xG and xA – all while playing off a primary No. 9 in the form of Oalex Anderson.
In that sense, the flexibility that stood out in San Diego has reared its head in a different form since Conway joined NCFC. He’s playing as a forward, and that’s undeniably, but he’s doing so in a 3-4-3 in which he often plays in the left halfspace rather than as a classic striker.
“Last year, you saw it. Oalex was leading the line and playing as a No. 9…because we thought it might be better for us to have Evan coming into the gaps and finding his feet,” Bradford explained. “It speaks to the versatility that he has in those moments. We want to get those two guys on the field at the same time, you know?”
The attacking numbers complement growth in other areas.
So far this year, Conway ranks in the 79th percentile of USL forwards in terms of interceptions per game. He won 82% of his tackle attempts in 2024 as an active member of the NCFC press. The 27-year-old’s defensive effort is a constant.
Conway (circled) anchors the press during a recent match, dropping in from the front three to mark a midfielder as his teammates trap out wide.
Bradford sees those numbers as a key area of improvement: “Watching his play, it never seemed like his defending was creating opportunities from an attacking standpoint. We got him to understand that his pressing can really affect our ability to recapture the ball in good spots on the field and then, in turn, create opportunities for him to be able to finish.”
Conway noted that he focused primarily on fitness this winter, rather than any specific technical aspect of the game. He’s a player that has often picked up early injuries or fell off during the later months, and his aim was to rectify those trends.
You can’t argue with the results. Conway has three goals already and looks noticeably sharper early in the 2025 season. He’s been fit and feels ready for the rest of the grueling Championship campaign.
Conway’s self-driven improvement has been supported by a more intangible atmosphere cultivated by NCFC as a club. Mindset and teamwork aren’t measurable, but they’ve made a world of difference.
“We've tried to supply consistency for him in terms of positional ideas and expectations, to allow him to grow relationships with guys on and off the field,” Bradford explained. “He’s been able to form the good habits that you get when you're playing with other people consistently. I think that's the biggest growth for him.”
It’s easy to forget the mental side of the game in the rush of match tape and statistics, but relationships and self-confidence are vital. Conway cited mentality as his biggest growth area as a pro – and as something that North Carolina has fostered within him.
“The coaching staff has been great as far as belief, you know? There's an intangible sense, like does the coach believe in your capabilities as a player? As a player, sometimes it falters within you, you lose confidence,” he explained. “To have a staff that believes in you and will give you that extra benefit of the doubt, give you a start on the weekend after a tough week of training – in that way, NCFC has been big for me.”
North Carolina FC embodies what’s been big for an entire generation of American soccer players: the ability to climb the ladder from college and League Two to make a mark in League One and the Championship. Between that developmental ethos and the environment at the club, North Carolina has been a perfect fit for Conway.
Hitting 50 professional goals is a major milestone, but it feels like the beginning of bigger things for Conway. As the forward approaches the remainder of the 2025 season, he seems poised to get another 50 goals – all of which will come in service to his team’s competitive goals. Evan Conway wouldn’t have it any other way.
Cover Photo Credit: Greg Ng / NCFC Communications