PHOTO COURTESY UTRGV ATHLETICS
Sophomore goalkeeper Conrad Knight from London, England has been awarded Ohio Valley Conference goalkeeper of the week for Oct. 27. Knight earned the award following a match against Houston Christian on Oct. 21 where he totaled 7 saves and a shutout victory against Western Illinois on Oct. 24.
Q: What got you into soccer?
A: “My dad has been involved in sports all of his life. So, he got me and my brother into sports from an early age. We both started playing rugby and soccer when we were quite little, and then sort of just picked the preference. So, my brother currently plays rugby, and I, obviously, play soccer for the school now. So, it all sort of came from my dad.”
Q: What or who inspires you to be as good of a player as you are?
A: “Again, that’s from my dad. He watches all the games. So, obviously he’s back home in England and there’s about a six-hour time difference. So he’s up at 1 a.m. still watching the games. And he always sends me a text afterwards and we have a call the day after the game. And, you know, he’s always telling me to be the best version of myself and to push myself, and ultimately, you know, he’s one of the big reasons why I’m in this position today.”
Q: Do you have a favorite soccer player?
A: “I don’t currently have a favorite, but someone I watched a lot growing up was Manuel Neuer, who’s arguably the best goalkeeper of all time. So, you know, being a goalkeeper myself, it was quite fitting to watch him and see how he played and see what he was doing to ultimately be the best.”
Q: Is goalkeeper your favorite position in soccer or do you enjoy playing others?
A: “Yeah, it’s definitely my favorite position to play. I like playing other positions, but you know, I think I am the best at this one, so I definitely enjoy it and, you know, it got me to where I am. So, I definitely enjoy playing goalkeeper.”
Q:What is your pre-practice or pre-game ritual to get you hyped up?
A: “I have a couple of things. … I wear my headphones in the locker room before games and, you know, I have my warm up routine all set, and I have the same one before every game, no matter if we’re playing home or away or if we’re playing, you know, an exhibition game or a conference game, it’s always the same for me. And then a big superstition I have is my right cleat goes on first, and then my left, and then my right glove goes on first, and then my left. It’s something just, you know, to keep the routine is important. … So, you’re as relaxed as you can be on match day and then you can go and perform the best you can.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about London and if one of your teammates was to visit England, what is something you’d suggest they have to do?
A: “Well, my favorite thing about London is … the scenery. The scenery is really nice, and there’s a lot of boroughs, you know, in London, and just outside that are really nice to go and visit, and they’re quite unique. … Having a day out is quite good and there’s a lot of good places to eat. And then if one of my teammates was to come, I’d say definitely go to the food markets that are sort of scattered around, because you can find some really interesting things. Although it might be a bit pricey, there’s definitely a lot of really good foods in some underground stalls, and there’s a lot of food marketplaces in different areas, so that’s definitely something you need to go and try.”
Q: How does soccer differ for you from the USA and England? Which do you prefer?
A: “Yeah, so I mean, one big thing is all the rules in college soccer compared to what we have back home with, you know, the clock stoppages and the subs and the yellow cards and all sorts of things like that. And then another thing is … I would say that college soccer is a lot more physical and, you know, everyone’s like a proper athlete, whereas back home, I feel like it’s a lot more, you know, technical. And you can sort of be any build, and they’re more focused on the technical side of the game. Whereas with the amount of training that we do here in the gym and stuff, everyone gets into proper shape and we can run for as long as possible. Everyone strives to be the fittest here. Yeah, back home, I mean, it’s a little bit different because I played men’s [soccer.] So, you know, they’ve got jobs and stuff and they’re less focused on athletics, a bit more just winning games. Yeah, which should I prefer? I’m not too sure because I’m enjoying my soccer out here as well as, you know, back home. So, I think I’ve sort of just been able to adapt to the different style that’s here and obviously, you know, try and perform at my best and help the team.”
Q: What was it like representing England in the Independent Schools Football Association National Team from 2022-24 and how has that impacted your play and relationship with soccer?
A: “That was, you know, one of the best experiences. I was playing with schoolboys my age, the best across the country, and quite a few are currently playing Division I soccer out here in the U.S. So, yeah, it was great to, you know, meet all them because I’d been playing against them throughout my whole time at school and then, you know, you get to form that relationship off the pitch as well when we go away for resorts and stuff, when we go to the England training camp and do that and then, yeah, you sort of keep those bonds for life and it’s good to see, you know, them still doing well and I keep in contact with a few of them and especially the ones that are out here. … We’re all in the same boat. We’re all far away from home and we’re all striving to be the best that we can. So, yeah, just being there and getting to meet the best players of my age and my, you know, similar sort of background, but from different parts of the country was really good.”
Q: Your brother Ethan plays rugby at Dartmouth, have you ever played rugby competitively and is there a world in which you’d be playing rugby or another sport instead of soccer?
A: “I stopped playing rugby when I was about 11, because I sort of had to pick between rugby or [soccer.] Yeah, I mean, I’ve sort of got the size for it. It’s like, in the genetics. So, if I was to play another sport, it’d probably be rugby or maybe tennis, because my dad was big on tennis and he used to coach here in the U.S. So, … it’d be rugby or tennis, I think, if I didn’t play soccer.”
Q: Whenever you aren’t practicing or at a game, what does a day off the field look like for you?
A: “It’s very relaxed, let’s just say that. Yeah, so we’ll go in for treatment in the mornings, and then, you know, when I’m not training, when I’m going to have days off, I try to switch off from soccer and just, you know, live my life as sort of a normal college student because of how much time it takes up. It’s nice to have that time away from it occasionally and then reset your mind and get focused for our next training session or our next game. So, yeah, I’m very relaxed and I like to watch shows on Netflix and movies. So, that’s typically what I do. … Just completely switch off from soccer before the next day and I have to switch back on.”
Q: What are you currently watching?
A: “Well, I’m currently watching a series called ‘I Will Find You’ based [on] a book by Harlen Coben. … [My] favorite movie is ‘Prisoners,’ so, if you haven’t heard of that, you’re going to have to watch it. It’s quite long, but it’s very good. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, and yeah, it’s definitely one of my favorite movies. I managed to sit through the whole three hours of it. So, you know it’s pretty good.”
Q: What are you looking forward to for the rest of the season and your soccer career here at UTRGV?
A: “I’m definitely looking forward to, you know, we’ve got a home game today and we’ve got our last conference game on the weekend and, you know, if results go well, and they should, then we’ll have the conference tournament the week after, and sort of the sky’s the limit for our team. We probably haven’t been as good as we wanted to, but we’re sort of peaking at the right time now. So, it would be definitely good to end the season on a high note, and then for the rest of my UTRGV career, I just want to just keep winning basically and see how many rings I can pick up. Also seeing if I can get some personal awards … as well as getting some team awards.”
— Compiled by Tiana Meza
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