Conor Rodgers
is the man in the mask

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

Conor Rodgers is having a picture-perfect season with the Archbishop Ryan High School soccer squad.
The senior striker helped lead his team to 14-1-5 record and a chance to compete in postseason play. He then helped the Raiders defeat North Catholic High School, 2-1, in the Catholic League semifinals on Saturday, earning Ryan a spot in the title game.
But he almost missed it all.
About one month ago, Rodgers was walking home from a friend’s house off Morrell Avenue when the unthinkable happened.
"A bunch of kids came out of nowhere and next thing I knew I was hit in the head with a bat," he recalled. "It broke four bones in my eye. It was so strange because it was over nothing. It was totally random."
After the attack, a disoriented Rodgers eventually made it home and was taken to Holy Redeemer Hospital. His injuries were attended to and he was given a protective mask to wear. No arrests have been made in connection with the assault.
Rodgers missed the next four games of his soccer season, but he knew things could have been a lot worse.
"At the time, I thought I was going to be out for the rest of the year," he said. "And that’s the worst thing that could happen."
Rodgers recovered quickly, and although he still must wear the protective mask on the field, he’s able to rejoin his Raider teammates.
"I was thrilled when I found out I could come back and play," he said. "I’m still in pain, but now it’s mostly healed. I wear the mask to be sure. I don’t want to be injured again."
The senior played a key role in the Raiders’ semifinal win over North Catholic by assisting Alex Michaleia’s game-winning goal with two minutes left in the first half to break a 1-1 tie.
"I’m a little surprised, in the sense that we just took two of the top-ranked teams in the area — St. Joe’s Prep and now North," coach George Todt said after the Raiders’ semifinal win. "During the year, we were a team trying to find ourselves. Now we’re coming up big. We’re playing excellent defense and finding ways to score decent goals."
The Raiders have outscored their opponents 49-20 this season, with seven shutouts.
"It’s different guys coming up big in key situations," said Todt, who is the all-time winningest high school soccer coach in Pennsylvania and ranks fifth in the nation for most coaching wins. "I think we knew we had a team that had to rebuild a little bit . . . we were average in the beginning and trying to find our stride. But we’re peaking at the right time."
This is the 19th time Ryan has made it to the end, with 13 championship victories in the Catholic League. The Raiders now face Father Judge on Thursday night at 8 at Archbishop Ryan.
"It makes you feel even better because we’re playing Judge," said Rodgers. "They are undefeated and we want to beat them. They have a good team, but I think we can beat them."
Rodgers has been part of Ryan’s varsity squad since his sophomore year, and even then he was battling an injury.
"I was knocked out for a whole season because of my back," he said. "But I’ve been working really hard since then to get where I am now. It feels great to go this far as a senior. The team is really peaking right now."
The 17-year-old has been playing soccer since he was 4. Besides playing for the Raiders, Rodgers participates with the Lighthouse club team.
"Conor is a high-energy player," said Todt. "He will do five things wrong and then make the big play for us. He has the ability to get to the ball and make plays for us. He comes up big when it counts. I don’t know what we’d do without him."
Now that he’s a senior, the final days of playing soccer at Ryan are bittersweet for Rodgers.
"I’ll really miss soccer here," he said. "The whole reason I wanted to go here was because I knew they had a great soccer program and I love to play.
"But we’re certainly not done yet," he added. "We’re going to run as much as we can and practice as hard as we can to prepare for the finals. We want to beat Judge." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com