Wenger taken first in MLS SuperDraft

In its first Major League Soccer SuperDraft, expansion club Montreal Impact selected Andrew Wenger with its top overall pick Thursday afternoon.

Wenger is the first Blue Devil ever taken with the No. 1 pick, and the 18th Duke player taken since MLS held its first collegiate draft in 1997.

The 2011 Hermann Trophy winner scored 17 goals and had eight assists en route to ACC offensive player of the year honors in his first year at center forward. The junior won the ACC defensive player of the year award as a center back in his first two seasons at Duke.

The junior announced he would forego his final year of college eligibility Dec. 21, when he signed a contract with Generation adidas.

“I think he’ll have a fabulous career,” Duke head coach John Kerr said. “He’s one of those unique talented individuals that can adjust to any setting that he’s put in.”

Wenger may face an adjustment from the start of his professional career as the Impact try to determine on which end of the field he should play. The 6-foot, 185-pound Lilitz, Pa. native will spend the next few weeks training as a defender with the United States U23 national team, but he may be forced to switch positions when MLS training camp begins.

“[A Montreal coach] did share with me that he liked him a lot at forward, but he’s going to evaluate the rest of his staff and see how the players mold together,” Kerr said. “He knows Andrew is capable of playing any position on the field except for maybe goalkeeper, so that’s a nice problem to have if you’re a coach.”

Montreal kept its decision close to the vest until selection time, only notifying Wenger that he would become the club’s first pick two minutes before the official announcement was made.