Congratulations to former Warwick High School and T3Soccer player, Andrew Wenger who was selected #1 overall in the MLS SuperDraft.

KANSAS CITY – Putting together an expansion team in Major League Soccer, with its many allocations and limitations, is not at all unlike putting together a puzzle. An unwieldy puzzle of disparate pieces with jagged edges and awkward angles that you’re expected to somehow coax into a cohesive collective.

With the first pick of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, the league’s new franchise The Montreal Impact wisely selected a piece that can be kneaded into whatever shape it likes. That piece, Duke junior defender-cum-midfielder-cum-forward Andrew Wenger, loafed up to the podium and into the blue hue of the harsh light confidently after becoming the first MLS draft pick to be called up in French. Stepping off the stage, he tucked his hands into his pockets with a demeanor probably no different from how he’d walk into his kitchen for a snack. The 21-year-old Wenger’s comfort with it all seemed to confirm the widely held notion that he was the most sensible pick in a solid but unremarkable draft class.

He took off his jacket and pulled an Impact jersey over his 1960s “Mad Men”-ishly handsome face. “You look good in that jersey, Andrew,” the Impact’s coach Jesse Marsch told him.

With Wenger added to the fold, Marsch’s entire team looks a little better. The first-year head coach was essentially handed a wild card for his puzzle, allowing him to shift other parts into better-fitting slots – because Wenger possesses a versatility that is rare.

“He has the potential to be a great defender, a great midfielder and a great forward,” said Marsch. In high school, Wenger played a different position in each of his four varsity seasons: left back, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder and forward. He was recruited to Duke University as a midfielder, with coach John Kerr planning to build his team around him there. But with the back line looking shoddy heading into Wenger’s freshman year, he was moved back a line to central defender. As a freshman, he was the ACC Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore, he was the ACC Defender of the Year. Before his junior and final year in college came another move.

“We were weak up front and I tried him there during a spring game, and I knew within 10 minutes he was going to be our best striker,” recalled Kerr. “I turned and said to my assistant coach: ‘He’s going to an All-American striker next year.’” Actually, he was the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winner as the best player in all of college soccer on account of his 17 goals and 8 assists. Oh, and the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, too. He never did play in midfield for the Blue Devils.

The United States’ U-23 national team coach Caleb Porter is equally smitten with Wenger, whom he is working out as a potential center back for the U.S. Olympic team for London 2012. “I think Andrew’s a lock for whatever team takes him to do very well,” said Porter. “I think he’s a really complete player, extremely versatile. He’s got great feet, technically he’s clean, and tactically he’s very smart. What people don’t realize and I didn’t realize until I worked with him for a week is that he’s athletic, he’s tall, he’s strong, he’s fast.”

Wenger hasn’t been his current 6 feet and 185 pounds for very long though. In fact, he attributes his versatility to always being among the smaller players in his childhood groups. The Olympic Development Program teams that Wenger played for go by birth year. Wenger was born Christmas Day 1990. “So I was one of the younger, smaller kids for a long time,” he explained. “I gave my mother a hard time when I was younger, saying if I’d been born a few days later I could be [among the bigger players on the team].”

Being a small, late-bloomer meant Wenger was forever being plugged into holes in the team. “ODP teams and club teams each had different needs, and I was athletic enough that even if I wasn’t the best player technically at that time, I could figure it out athletically,” said Wenger. “So that’s why maybe I’m more of an intellectual player, because I had to figure things out mentally to keep up with some of the bigger players.”

Although it made him an attractive draft choice, there’s a downside to Wenger’s versatility, too. “Some guys are specific in one position and fantastic at that position,” he said. “I’ve played multiple positions and I haven’t always been great at every position I’ve played in. I’m a jack of all trades, ace of none.” Wenger is a little rusty at center back, for example, where he didn’t play all last season but is projected on the U-23s and in the pros.

And although he was considered the most MLS-ready and least project-like player in the draft, Marsch warned of labeling him that. “To be honest, they’re all projects,” he said. “It’s not like any guy you get out of the college draft any year can fully be a 90-minute pro from the start. We think Andrew is still going to be a project in where he plays and how he adjusts, but we think he’s very mature and can handle the pressure of being the first pick.”

The maturity the Impact like is reflected in Wenger’s other pursuits. He’s a history buff — “I grew up on the History Channel,” he said — with a fascination for medieval and modern Great Britain and the slave trade era in the Caribbean. He’s just four credits away from his degree in history. So rather than ship off to Montreal straight away, Wenger will split his time between Durham, N.C., and Montreal until he graduates in May. He’ll take his remaining classes and train with Duke the first half of the week, and practice and play with the Impact the second half.

“It meant a lot to me; I’ve worked very hard for it,” Wenger said of his degree. “And I can’t play forever, and afterwards that’ll be something I’ll lean on for a living.”
Wenger is a budding foodie, too. In preparation for the draft, he hungrily boned up on Montreal’s culinary scene, watching celebrity television chef Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” TV episode shot there.

And whatever he ends up ordering off a menu or wherever he ends up playing on the field, “I’ve gotta learn French,” it dawned on Wenger.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at leander.espn@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderESPN.

One thing better than winning a championship is being practically perfect while doing it. And Conestoga, it can now say, was practically perfect in 2011.

The Pioneers topped Upper St. Clair, 1-0, to win the PIAA Class AAA state boys’ soccer championship Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium.

The win completes an undefeated season in which the Pioneers went 24-0-1, with a tie to Shipley on Oct. 22.

When the final whistle blew, the team took to the stands, where a raucous, vuvuzela-blowing, cowbell-ringing crowd embraced the school’s first boys’ soccer state champions since 1988.

“To go undefeated, to win the state title is really a dream, is what it is,” Pioneers coach Dave Zimmerman said. “The thing I love about it more than anything is I think it’s safe to say that not only is this the greatest team in the history of the school, but I think the feat cannot be equaled.

“No one can be greater. There’s nothing else anyone can possibly do. It’s hard to imagine, even though it’s actually happening.”

Conestoga took a 1-0 lead 1 minute, 17 seconds into the second half. Senior tricaptain Andrew Connors led a magnificent break, weaving through the Upper St. Clair midfield before lacing a through ball with the outside of his right foot to a streaking Nick Laganelli.

Laganelli made a cut to break past the Panthers’ last line of defense and crossed to T-Ben Donnie, who deposited the ball in the back of the net for his 10th score of the season.
“I got the ball, knew what I was doing, fed it off, and just there’s the goal. Happens a lot,” Connors said.

“I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. The defender got caught ball-watching, and I was able to get a touch on it,” Donnie said.

The Pioneers were the better offensive team, displaying excellent poise on the ball and making their trademark pinpoint passes. They held a 12-7 shot advantage and worked in the attacking third for much of the second half.

Upper St. Clair’s best chance of the game came with less than 11 minutes to go. Matthew Kiernan hooked a clear look from about 18 yards, but it went wide of the net.

The Panthers were pressuring the Conestoga back line late, but it stood firm and preserved the shutout.

“We’ve hung on all year,” Pioneers goalkeeper Clarke Fox said. “It’s a Conestoga win for us: getting a lead early and hanging on.”
The Pioneers, ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer and No. 6 in the country by ESPN Rise, finished the season on an eight-game winning streak. They haven’t lost since the 2010 state quarterfinals on Nov. 13, 2010.

They shut out 17 opponents this season and didn’t allow more than one goal in any game. They didn’t surrender a lead the entire season and were spectacular in close affairs: 13 of their wins came by one goal.

Upper St. Clair, the District 7 champion, was seeking its first state championship since winning back-to-back state titles in 2003-04.

“Hands down, they’re the best team we’ve seen this year,” Panthers coach Uwe Schneider said of the Pioneers.

T3Soccer is pleased to announce their selection as the official camp provider for the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association (PSCA).

The PSCA is an organization of high school and college soccer coaches and others, whose purpose is to educate, provide service, promote, and stimulate interest in the game of soccer in Pennsylvania. The PSCA determines the Pennsylvania Boys and Girls State Rankings, All-State teams, Coach of the Year and Hall of Fame, among others.

“We are honored to be selected as the official camp provider for the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association”, said Mark Wagner, Co-Founder of T3Soccer. T3Soccer is a Pennsylvania-based soccer education and training company that has trained high school soccer teams throughout the state for over a decade, with numerous boys and girls teams winning League, District and State Championships including, Warwick, Conestoga, Camp Hill, Lower Merion, Manheim Central, Lancaster Mennonite and many others. Wagner continued, “The PSCA is an outstanding organization that has helped educate, promote and grow soccer in Pennsylvania for decades. They are committed to the very highest standards, as is T3Soccer, which makes this an excellent partnership. We look forward to our involvement with the PSCA for many years to come!”

About T3 Soccer

T3Soccer’s primary goal is to help advance high school soccer in Pennsylvania by connecting high school coaches and their programs into a network of experienced and committed college coaches who are serious about soccer and it’s growth.

While T3 soccer is often associated with running soccer camps, T3soccer also provides:

• Ongoing coaching support during the regular-season, post-season and offseason, including but not limited to: systems of play, tactics, technique, strength & fitness, psychology, leadership and group dynamics.
• Scouting reports on opponents during District and PIAA playoff games through T3′s network of College scouts and HS coaches.
• Access to the very latest coaching ideas through T3Soccer educational materials, seminars and coach mentoring.
• Support of various Pennsylvania soccer high school coaches associations.
• College counseling network and support for high school Juniors/Seniors.

Effective, advanced soccer coaching must be specific to both a team’s system of play and the player’s individual role in that system — and takes a tremendous amount of planning. Our ability and willingness to do so, has made T3Soccer the best soccer education and training company in our market.

HAVERFORD, Pa. – Haverford College Director of Athletics Wendy Smith ’87 is pleased to announce the promotion of Shane Rineer from interim to head coach of the men’s soccer program.

Smith removed the interim tag from Rineer’s position following a successful season in which the Fords played their way into the Centennial Conference championship game for the first time in program history.

“While working with Shane this past fall I was able to witness first hand his incredible work ethic and instant dedication and commitment to our soccer program and the development of our student-athletes both on and off the field,” said Smith. “His evident knowledge of the game and enduring belief in the potential of our student-athletes resulted in one of the more memorable seasons in Haverford soccer history. I look forward to working with Shane as he builds upon this season’s success in creating a program competitive in both the Centennial Conference and beyond and emblematic of both Haverford College and Divsiion III in which achievement is measured equally both on and off the field.”

Rineer’s team finished the 2011 campaign on a nine-game unbeaten string which included a 2-1 semifinal triumph over host and top seed Johns Hopkins University and a 1-1 draw in the conference tournament championship game against Dickinson College. The Fords were either tied or ahead on the scoreboard over an incredible 824 minutes and 38 seconds during the closing nine-game stretch.

Haverford posted conference tournament successes while in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) capturing eight overall titles and 13 divisional championships but since joining the Centennial in 1993 had not achieved a playoff berth, let alone a trip to the championship final. The Fords’ 11-6-2 season marked the first double-digit win total for the program since 2000, and their 5-4 conference record under Rineer marked the first winning record in league play since posting an identical record in 2001.

With Rineer at the helm, Haverford defeated rival Swarthmore College, 2-1, for the first time since 2003 and placed a trio of players onto the all-conference team. Junior midfield Matt Gorski picked up first-team all-Centennial honors while senior forward Alejandro Rettig y Martinez and sophomore defender Jamie Reingruber were voted to the second team.

“I would like to thank Haverford College, the athletic staff and Director of Athletics Wendy Smith,” said Rineer. “This is an incredible opportunity to be part of an institution with such an excellent reputation in both academics and athletics. I look forward to building upon the proud tradition of Haverford men’s soccer.”

Prior to joining Haverford’s staff, Rineer was an assistant coach at Amherst College during the 2010 season. He was responsible for scouting, game plan development, training and film analysis for a Lord Jeffs team that was 13-2-4 and reached the third round of the NCAA Division III championship tournament.

Rineer was a two-year assistant coach for Division I Villanova University before his time with Amherst. As the leader of Villanova’s player development program, he helped the Wildcats earn their first ever Big East tournament home game in 2009. Rineer also had a hand in the program’s training, scouting, film breakdown and recruiting.

Rineer’s collegiate coaching career began with a two-year stint at Eastern University. In 2007, he helped lead the Eagles to the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) title and an NCAA tournament appearance.

A 2006 graduate of Eastern with a degree in early childhood education, Rineer earned All-PAC honors in 2004 and 2005. He was a member of the 2003 and 2005 PAC championship teams that went to the NCAA tournament.