COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Ronon O'Connor is a big fan of chess, playing the game often with friends and online as well.

"I'm pretty good for an amateur," the sophomore forward on the Saint John's soccer team said. "I like the strategy involved."

That ability to see the whole board comes in handy on the field too, where the Hill-Murray High School graduate is having a breakout season. O'Connor is currently tied for the MIAC lead in goals with 11.

"I do kind of treat soccer like a board game," said O'Connor, whose team is off to a 7-3-2 start under new head coach Tudor Flintham '06 and is tied for fifth place in the MIAC standings with Macalester, the team the Johnnies face at 1 p.m. Saturday in St. Paul.

"Where are the defenders placed? If I do this, will that guy have a tendency to do that? How can I get myself in the best position to score goals?"

O'Connor has proved quite capable of doing that this fall. His 11 goals are already the most by a Johnnie player in a single season since Kagan Foster scored 11 in 2019 (a total also reached by Flintham and Tyler Kodet in 2005, Tyler Bosch in 2004, Eric Ross in 1994 and John Boyd in 1986).

One more will tie him with Boyd (1988) and Jim Phelps (1980) for third place on the program's single-season list. And with seven regular-season games still remaining, the single-season school record of 19 – set by Ken Potts all the way back in 1971 – remains in-range as well.

"Ronan has responded really well to a more detailed structure and an environment with less room for interpretation," Flintham said. "That's simplified his job and put him in a role where he just needs to execute what he's good at. He's a killer in the box, and as long as he keeps working aggressively between the posts, he'll keep banging in goals. 

"We've also had a bit of a gentlemen's bet since the spring about him beating my single season record of 32 points (O'Connor now has 27: 11 goals, five assists), so hopefully the prospect of some bragging rights has given him a little extra fire. I hope he smashes my numbers."

O'Connor first made an impact a year ago when the then-freshman led the Johnnies in both goals (six) and points (14, including his two assists).

But he said the arrival of Flintham as head coach has provided him expanded opportunities to show what he's capable of offensively.

"I was able to accomplish some things last season, but my minutes were still somewhat limited," O'Connor said. "This year, I'm averaging almost the full 90 minutes per game. I'm out there a lot more and that's increased the number of opportunities I'm getting.

Still, he's quick to spread around credit for his success.

"I think it's really more a sign of how well our team is coming together," O'Connor said. "You don't do anything by yourself in soccer. If I put the ball in the back of the net, other guys did the work to get it to me in the right spot."

But O'Connor isn't just producing points. He's also become a team leader, evidenced by the fact he and senior defender Foster Conlin were selected as team captains this preseason.

"I felt so honored by that," he said. "To know other people have that level of respect for me is really inspiring. It's helped me take my game to the next level because I don't want to let anyone down."

O'Connor – a finance major whose older brother Cormac is a senior at SJU – is still figuring out what career path he'd like to pursue one day.

"Definitely something in the financial world," he said. "I was president of my high school's investment club and I've always been drawn that way. I really enjoyed my first finance class here and that's what caused me to choose that as my major.

"I like the real-world applications, and the idea of being a businessman in a suit or tuxedo one day sounds pretty cool too."

Such stylish ensembles, though, will wait for another day. For now, O'Connor's focus is on helping his still-young team make the conference playoffs (the top six finishers in the standings earn spots in the postseason field) and perhaps advance further.

"Our main goal is to win an MIAC (playoff title) and earn that automatic NCAA (Division III tournament) bid. That's achievable. We've shown we have the talent to compete with all these teams.

"We know we have a tough, uphill battle in front of us. But that's what we're aiming for."