Junior Andrew Wenger juggles more than just soccer balls—he balances a professional soccer career with the Montreal Impact with his classes at Duke.
Wenger played for Duke for three seasons, winning the Hermann Trophy—an award given to the top player in NCAA Division I soccer—as well as the title of 2010 ACC defensive player of the year and 2011 ACC offensive player of the year. In January, Impact drafted Wenger first overall in the 2012 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
“[Playing in MLS] is much different because obviously there’s the sense of you getting paid and it’s a little more cutthroat,” Wenger said. “You need to be on your game every day.”
Wenger has played forward—the same position he played his junior year at Duke—in six of the Impact’s last seven games. Although he may play the same position, he noted that the game moves at a much quicker pace in the world of professional soccer.
Wenger’s first goal with the Impact, an expansion team in the league for its first season, led them to their first victory in MLS against Toronto FC.
Although he has switched between attack and defense in his collegiate career, adjusting to the professional forward position has been easier than when he had to play defense at times in college . “I played attacking positions when I was younger, so it was probably harder to play a defensive role when I came to school,” he said. “It was a little more natural [once] I got my bearings and got used to it.”
Wenger said his contract with MLS allows him to stay in school through graduation, and he would not have to play any games that would conflict with his studies. Wenger added, however, that the dual commitment can be frustrating because it can impede his professional career.
“It’s just kind of weird being [in Montreal] for only half the week and not being with the whole team,” he said. “It will be nice to get into a larger role with the team once I’m done with school.”
With a year remaining until graduation, Wenger said he is set on completing academic requirements early so that he focus solely on soccer. That includes creating a schedule that will allow him to be with his team more often.
“After this semester I have four classes left and I’m in the process of organizing independent studies with professors so I won’t have to come back to Duke,” he said. “I’m just trying to have the most successful and long-lasting soccer career possible.”
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