CHESTERTOWN — Mayowa Taiwo of Chestertown, a former triple-threat athlete and student government leader at Kent County High School, is the 2025 recipient of Washington College’s Goose Nation Award. He’s the senior male student who, in the opinion of the department, “by cooperation, loyalty, sportsmanship, spirit and industry, contributed the most to the development of athletics” at the college.
Consensus on campus is that Taiwo is one of the most beloved members of the soccer team, and head coach Roy Dunshee acknowledged being completely charmed by Taiwo’s personality.
Over four seasons, Taiwo, a midfielder, appeared in 53 matches with eight starts.
He was one of only three players to appear in all 19 matches last fall and served as a captain for the 8-5-6 Shoremen.
Taiwo’s collegiate career coincides with arguably the most exciting four years in program history — four appearances in the Centennial Conference Tournament, a conference championship in 2021 and two appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, punctuated by a berth in the national semifinals in 2023.
He appeared in 14 matches for 14-3-6 Washington in 2023, and logged 240 minutes.
In the big scheme of things that’s not that big, some would argue.
But when we dissect Taiwo’s time on the pitch, we see how “big” every second can be.
In the 2023 Elite Eight contest against No. 7-ranked Connecticut College, the 2021 national champion, Taiwo had just entered the match — a mere 31 seconds to be exact — when he took a shot that led to what held up to be All-American Chris Comber’s game-winning goal in a 1-0 thriller.
The time elapsed from when Taiwo came on to the pitch and Comber scored, putting back the rebound of Taiwo’s shot that was saved by the Conn College keeper, was 53 seconds.
That’s big!
Taiwo played a career-high 62 minutes in the match.
That’s big too!
All told that season, Taiwo scored only one goal and took only six shots, with three on target. His first shot of the season produced his first career goal — what held up as the insurance goal in a 2-0 victory at Muhlenberg as the Shoremen tightened their grip on first place in the conference.
His only other collegiate goal was the game-winner last October at conference rival Haverford.
Over his career, Taiwo took only 16 shots, with only half of those on frame.
He’d liked to have played more, though his 458 minutes as a senior in the fall of 2024 were considerably more than the 259, 254 and 240 minutes he logged in 2021, ’22 and ’23, respectively.
Taiwo seemed to understand that his contributions to Sho’men soccer cannot be measured in minutes, or points or any other category on a stat sheet.
“I see my role on this team as someone who can bring high energy and good vibes into the team dynamic and someone who can also boost team morale when needed,” Taiwo told The Evening Enterprise in 2023 on the eve of the Final Four match against eventual national champion St. Olaf of Minnesota.
He added: “I also bring explosive energy when on the field but my role as a positive role model for the younger guys on the team also extends off the field as well, whether that is always staying positive or uplifting everyone’s mood and making everyone laugh.”
Taiwo was an outstanding athlete at Kent County High School, possessing speed, strength, smarts and field awareness. His MVP sport was indoor track; he received Coach’s Choice awards in soccer and lacrosse.
He also was a member of the National Honor Society, Interact Club and Minority Scholars Program, and served as SGA executive president.
When considering his college options, and looking at Washington, “it wasn’t even to play soccer,” Taiwo said.
“Then things lined up in my favor and I was able to get the amazing opportunity of walking onto the team,” he added.
That lines up with what coach Dunshee told The Evening Enterprise in an email this week.
“Mayowa came to our team with a modest playing background. … He was a multi-sport athlete who did not play soccer year-round. But we could see great potential in his play, and we were completely charmed by his personality,” Dunshee said in Tuesday’s email.
“We brought him on board, and he seized his opportunity,” Dunshee said of Taiwo, who “now graduates from our program as a team captain.”
Dunshee said Taiwo has been “an exemplary teammate, leader and mentor, and contributed mightily to the most successful seasons in program history.”
Taiwo will graduate from Washington College tomorrow (Sunday, May 18) as a double major in business and economics and with a minor in marketing.
