If you’ve been to any UNCW Men’s soccer games this season, you’ve probably seen forward Sam Leger score a goal or two, whether he was scoring within the first five minutes of the game against Stetson, two consecutive goals against ECU or the winning goal over UNC-Greensboro. Leger has kept goalies busy all season, scoring six goals thus far, making his senior year his best yet.

“He’s got strength, power, and he provides a real threat going forward,” head coach Aidan Heaney said. “He can score goals.”

Four years ago, Leger joined the men’s soccer team with 13 other freshman, eight of which are still on the team. Leger believes that the same group of nine players has taken the team from being relatively unknown to ranking in the top 25. The conference now recognizes UNCW as strong competition and awards some of their best talent. Leger was recently awarded CAA conference player of the week. This is a huge honor to be individually recognized as an outstanding player above all players in conference.

“He’s become a lot more refined. He was quite raw when he first arrived,” Heaney said. “Now he’s an exceptional athlete and plays a lot smarter.”

Leger has played soccer since he was six years old, and it is evident in his strength on the field. UNCW recruited him all the way from Faith Christian in Arvada, Colorado. He came to the university to play soccer, and of course, the beach was another incentive. Leger is double majoring in Finance and Management, in addition to the 14 hours a week of practice with the soccer team. He has played as a key forward for UNCW for the past four years. Though in this season Leger has proved to be a leading scorer, last year’s home victory over undefeated UNC-Greensboro stills stands out as his most memorable time as a part of UNCW Men’s soccer team.

“We are really deep this year,” Leger said. “There’s a lot of underclassman that could be playing if it wasn’t for the seniors. We have a good recruitment and freshman class coming in.”

Though a good portion of this season’s starting players are graduating seniors, both Heaney and Leger are confident the team will continue to hold their own and remain competitive next season. The future UNCW Men’s soccer teams can thank Sam Leger for attaining this rank in the conference, due to his hard work and success.