24 Under 24: #7 Andrew Wenger, Montreal Impact

MLSsoccer staff


<h1> 7. <a href="/players/andrew-wenger">Andrew Wenger</a></h1><strong>Pos: F \| Montreal Impact \| Age: 21</strong><p>The player who came into the league as Mr. Versatility without a definitive position has been assigned one in MLS. Andrew Wenger is a forward on the Montreal Impact. Now all he needs to do is to figure out how to get more playing time. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012 opted to finish his schooling at Duke which made him a part-time player through May. And while Wenger was playing catch-up and also battling a hamstring injury, designated player Marco Di Vaio arrived and has held on to the forward spot in the Impact’s 4-2-3-1. That starting lineup will prove a tough nut to crack for the highly regarded Hermann Trophy winner.</p><p><strong>What the TDs and coaches like:</strong> “He’s a gifted player, a gifted athlete … There’s no doubt he’s got a tremendous football brain and is a great talent … He went to a good school and wanted to graduate, so he lost a lot of time at the start of the season … It took him a while to adjust … I like him. He's polished and he can play almost any position on the field ... Definitely think he's got a bright future, but I can't tell you where he's going to end up playing in the long run … He can play multiple positions and he competes … At some point, he's going to have to start playing regularly … I think he just needs to get out there and get playing time. He’s got four goals and only four starts, so that’s pretty good.”</p><p><strong>Where TDs and coaches want improvement: </strong>“He’s made a steady start to his career in MLS. For me, it’s only his second year as a forward so he just needs to keep learning that position … He just needs to get himself into the side regularly and find that consistency … In college he was such a good athlete he was able to overrun people, whereas in MLS there’s a lot of good athletes so I think he’s had to refine his game a little bit … His movement is probably a little bit neater and he’s learning more about the position, whereas before I think it was just natural with his power, his pace and his finishing … He probably lacks enough games at the moment. That'll probably be the biggest thing for him."</p><p><strong>Opta Says:</strong> Of players younger than 24 with at least 150 minutes played in MLS this year, Wenger has the highest goals-per-90 rate (0.66).</p><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="226" id="cf41788oi" name="cf41788on" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1160584/league_2012-09-12-172124.640hq.mp4"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="226" id="cf41788ei" name="cf41788en" src="http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1160584/league_2012-09-12-172124.640hq.mp4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"></object>

<h1> 7. <a href="/players/andrew-wenger">Andrew Wenger</a></h1>Pos: F | Montreal Impact | Age: 21The player who came into the league as Mr. Versatility without a definitive position has been assigned one in MLS. Andrew Wenger is a forward on the Montreal Impact. Now all he needs to do is to figure out how to get more playing time. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012 opted to finish his schooling at Duke which made him a part-time player through May. And while Wenger was playing catch-up and also battling a hamstring injury, designated player Marco Di Vaio arrived and has held on to the forward spot in the Impact’s 4-2-3-1. That starting lineup will prove a tough nut to crack for the highly regarded Hermann Trophy winner.What the TDs and coaches like: “He’s a gifted player, a gifted athlete … There’s no doubt he’s got a tremendous football brain and is a great talent … He went to a good school and wanted to graduate, so he lost a lot of time at the start of the season … It took him a while to adjust … I like him. He's polished and he can play almost any position on the field ... Definitely think he's got a bright future, but I can't tell you where he's going to end up playing in the long run … He can play multiple positions and he competes … At some point, he's going to have to start playing regularly … I think he just needs to get out there and get playing time. He’s got four goals and only four starts, so that’s pretty good.”Where TDs and coaches want improvement: “He’s made a steady start to his career in MLS. For me, it’s only his second year as a forward so he just needs to keep learning that position … He just needs to get himself into the side regularly and find that consistency … In college he was such a good athlete he was able to overrun people, whereas in MLS there’s a lot of good athletes so I think he’s had to refine his game a little bit … His movement is probably a little bit neater and he’s learning more about the position, whereas before I think it was just natural with his power, his pace and his finishing … He probably lacks enough games at the moment. That'll probably be the biggest thing for him."Opta Says: Of players younger than 24 with at least 150 minutes played in MLS this year, Wenger has the highest goals-per-90 rate (0.66).<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="226" id="cf41788oi" name="cf41788on" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1160584/league_2012-09-12-172124.640hq.mp4"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="226" id="cf41788ei" name="cf41788en" src="http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1160584/league_2012-09-12-172124.640hq.mp4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"></object>


<span style="font-size: 12px;">Tale of the Tape</span>
Last Year in 24U24: N/A
Fan Ranking: #12
Castrol Index (as of 9/14/12): #262


<span style="font-size: 12px;">2012 Stats</span>
Matches played: 18
Matches started: 4
Goals: 4
Assists: 0

24 Under 24: #7 Andrew Wenger, Montreal Impact -


<span style="font-size: 12px;">Related Content</span>
<ul><li><strong>READ:</strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/07/11/impact-rookie-wenger-going-school-montreal-history" target="_blank">Wenger goes to school on Montreal history</a></li><li><strong>WATCH:</strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/06/21/anatomy-goal-andrew-wenger-vs-sea" target="_blank">Anatomy of a Goal -- Wenger vs. SEA</a></li><li><strong>READ:</strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/05/17/no-1-pick-wenger-joins-impact-full-time-after-graduating" target="_blank">Wenger joins Impact full-time after graduation</a></li><li><strong>WATCH:</strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/05/26/goal-impacts-wenger-ties-game-early-second-half" target="_blank">Impact No. 1 pick scores vs. Rapids</a></li></ul>

Related Content

<ul><li>READ:<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/07/11/impact-rookie-wenger-going-school-montreal-history" target="_blank">Wenger goes to school on Montreal history</a></li><li>WATCH:<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/06/21/anatomy-goal-andrew-wenger-vs-sea" target="_blank">Anatomy of a Goal -- Wenger vs. SEA</a></li><li>READ:<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/05/17/no-1-pick-wenger-joins-impact-full-time-after-graduating" target="_blank">Wenger joins Impact full-time after graduation</a></li><li>WATCH:<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/05/26/goal-impacts-wenger-ties-game-early-second-half" target="_blank">Impact No. 1 pick scores vs. Rapids</a></li></ul>