SOCCER | CONNOR GILMOUR | HOWLAND

11“I think I kept up pretty well,” Gilmour said referring to juggling soccer and football practices and such. “After school I’d go to football practice and kick for an hour, then go off to soccer. It was busy, but it all paid off.”

It did, especially on Sept. 16.

Gilmour’s Tigers were trailing 28-27 at home to Canfield, but a nice drive with under a minute left got them into field goal range. As time expired, Gilmour lifted a 39-yard field goal attempt through the uprights. When he was sent out to the field, he said he felt a mix of nervousness and confidence, but after, “It was exciting,” he said. “Everybody was hugging me and lifting me up. Really, it was just amazing.”

You won’t see Gilmour on the gridiron anymore, but he will be found at Cedarville University, near Dayton, attending on a soccer scholarship. He leaves Howland as the school’s top career goal scorer, breaking the previous record of 54 midway through an 11-3-4 season. He tended to be the centerpiece of a quick offense that was complemented by three other seniors.

“We really knew we were going to be playing up top on offense,” he said. “So we focused on getting greater production that way.”

Gilmour started on the varsity team even when he was a freshman. He started kicking around a soccer ball ever since he could walk, so the learning and development began early and never really stopped.

Gilmour will major in biology to pursue a career as a veterinarian.