Andrew Wenger often jokes about his positional versatility. Throughout his career, his athleticism has led to various coaches playing him all over the field. Under Duke head coach John Kerr, though, Wenger has spent the vast majority of his time anchoring the defensive line at center-back. At least, until now.
The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year has begun to transition from center-back to forward this year, and he is confident that he will be able to succeed no matter where he lines up.
“It’s going alright, I’m taking it one day at a time,” Wenger, sitting between his fellow co-captains, goalkeepers James Belshaw and Jan Trnka-Amrhein, said. “I’ve played all over the place except goalkeeper…goalie’s not my thing.”
Having already garnered accolades before the season even started, expectations are high for the junior. He and Belshaw were both selected to the Preseason All-America first teams by Soccer America and College Soccer News, and were placed on the Hermann Trophy Watch List, the highest individual award in collegiate soccer.
In addition, TopDrawerSoccer.com recently named Wenger the top professional prospect in the college game. To continue to play at such an elite level, the positional transition will be just as much a mental adjustment as it is a physical one for Wenger, who said he will use his knowledge of defending the best forwards in the nation the past two seasons to his advantage during the switch.
“Tactically and mentally it’s different. As a defender, you get angry at yourself if you mess up once a game,” Wenger said. “But, playing forward I mess up a lot, more than I usually do. So, it’s about keeping a different mental approach.”
The position switch was the coach’s decision, and Kerr explained it as being motivated by his size, speed and aggression, all of which suit him well for excelling up front. Duke experimented with Wenger in the midfield during the spring season, according to Kerr, but the team is hopeful the move to center forward will create the largest payoff.
Another factor is the absence of Ryan Finley, who after being suspended from the team toward the end of last season has since transferred to Notre Dame. Finley led the team in scoring both of his years on the team and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year last season after leading the nation in goals per game, with 0.94.
And while the Blue Devils will primarily use Wenger up front to fill that void, Kerr admitted he is willing to tinker with his lineup depending on the situation and isn’t wedded to having his star play forward every second of every game.
“He can play anywhere, so maybe certain games we’re up a goal late in the game and we’ll push him in the back,” Kerr said. “We’ll see for us, but luckily he’s a fantastic player at any position.”
Replacing Wenger on the defensive end will be a tough task, but fortunately the Blue Devils have a top-notch goalkeeper in Belshaw to help hold down the fort. Joining Belshaw on defense and trying to fill Wenger’s big shoes will be Nat Eggleston, one of the gems of Kerr’s third-ranked recruiting class. The 6-foot-3 defender was ranked the 35th-best recruit in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com and has experience playing for the United States U-18 National Team.
And with position switches, tactical changes, mental adjustments and national preseason awards in the front of everyone’s mind as the first regular season game looms Friday night at UNC-Greensboro, the former star defender seemed to shrug off the uncertainty.
“Just a little bit more pressure,” Wenger said.
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