In Play(er) of the Week, we seek to highlight Wesleyan athletes or parts of games that deserve extra attention. When Liam Devanny ’23 became a starting keeper in the fall of 2019, Wesleyan’s men’s soccer team was struggling, ranking around the bottom of the NESCAC standings. Today, Wesleyan is a top contender in the NESCAC and has frequented the national rankings poll throughout the year. Devanny won NESCAC Player of the Week in September, as he was key to leading the team to its strong start. The Argus sat down with Devanny to talk about his time at Wesleyan and the current season.

The Argus: How has it been playing for the Wesleyan soccer team?

Liam Devanny: I would say from a soccer perspective, it’s different than what I grew up in. I came into Wes and we weren’t one of the top teams. For my high school and my club growing up, we were always either expected to win or be one of the top teams in contention. It’s been kind of a different experience in that we had to grow at Wesleyan as a soccer team starting with my class. We’ve just been getting better and better through each class. The recruiting has been getting better and better, and the culture’s been getting better and better. At first, we weren’t competing for a title, we’ve been building towards that.

A: As the team’s goals have changed and you have moved from one of the younger players to a senior member, how do you feel your role has changed?

LD: As a freshman, I came in and I was able to start, which was really cool. But as a goalie, you have to be a leader. Through your play and position, you have to tell people what to do and lead the team by example. It was difficult for me at first, especially because my older brother was on the team as a senior, and all of his friends were seniors too. So, telling them, or more yelling at them, what to do was challenging to do at the start.

Eventually, I became more confident in my own ability as a keeper and my ability to lead, which has made that role of being a vocal leader a lot easier. Junior year and senior year, I’ve been probably the most vocal in the field and I’ve embraced that role of being that vocal keeper while letting other people take a leadership role in other ways. 

A: So moving into your senior season, what were some of your goals entering the year?

LD: My goal this year was a NESCAC Championship. It’s probably the first year where I can realistically say with confidence that it’s definitely attainable. And then as we’ve been playing, I think a deep NCAA run has come to the Cards because we’re in a good spot right now. If we keep it up, I’m sure we can go pretty far in NCAAs, which would be sweet.

[In terms of] off-the-field goals, for the past three years, my schedule’s been pretty terrible with my two majors. I was hoping that this year would be more relaxed, and so far it has been. I’ve been branching out a bit into some art classes. I’m in drumming right now. I’m also in a wine forum right now, so it’s definitely more relaxing than years past, and I’m trying to let what happens happen and enjoy my time here because I haven’t really been able to take full advantage of my free time in the past three years.

A: Yeah, you have to get it all in during your final year. What do you want to impart to future soccer classes at Wesleyan? 

LD: I would want future classes to resemble our class. No matter where you start out, your goal after four years should be to be better than where you were at the start. I think my class has made the biggest jump just because our starting position was so low, but I think every class after mine should have the perspective that although we’re starting here, when I’m a senior, we’re going to be finishing up here. 

A: At the beginning of the year, you had a great start, going seven games undefeated. You also received NESCAC Player of the Week, which is big. What were some of the reasons that you found early success? 

LD: I credit a lot to our team’s defense this year. In years past, like my freshman year, we were a team that defended for maybe 80 minutes of the 90 minutes. And this year especially, we’ve been able to control the ball on the offensive side, which obviously improves your defense because you’re defending for half the time, and when you defend, you’re more prepared and you have a better shape. So first off, I’m receiving fewer shots, which always helps as a goalie. Second, I think the quality of defending and the quality of our defensive structure is just the best it’s ever been. 

A: Right now, Wes has been in a little bit of a slump. You’re still doing well in the NESCAC, but it’s midway through the season and you’re looking into a tough second half of the season; how are you going to keep the momentum going?

LD: I brought this up with my coaches in the summer, and I think one of the big differences between my freshman year when we weren’t winning as much and the years after was the competitive edge in practice. In my freshman year, practices were times [where we] would go through the motions, but no one really wanted to compete with one another to the intensity that we are now. I told my coaches over the summer something that will keep us going throughout the year is keeping that competitive edge because it keeps everyone at their best. That also keeps the bench players, who maybe don’t see the field as much, pushing the guys that are on the field. If we keep that throughout the whole season, then we’ll always be at our best. And obviously that’s perfect for longevity. 

A: What are you doing differently in practice that’s keeping that competitive edge? 

LD: I think it starts with the individual’s mindsets. Every single guy on the roster can play in a NESCAC game, which is something that we couldn’t say years past. So if everyone has a mindset that if I do this well in practice, I could be given the shot to play, that’s where it starts. Through the coaches [who give] the specific drills we do at practice, [who] reward people who play well at practice, and [who] reward people who do well off the field, they [have found] a good way to keep people going and pushing each other.

A: I have one last thing that I wanted to ask. Are you thinking of continuing to play soccer after senior year at Wesleyan for a club or a men’s league? 

LD: I actually am currently thinking of returning. I’m in the midst of applying to graduate school at Wesleyan right now so I might come back next season and go for one more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

If you would like to nominate a Play(er) of the Week, please reach out to cbonnevie@wesleyan.edu, ebyerly@wesleyan.edu, or eseaver@wesleyan.edu with either the athlete’s name and one sentence about why they deserve to be nominated, or the team, date of the game, and players involved, and the segment that you would like to highlight.

Eli Seaver can be reached at eseaver@wesleyan.edu.