Villanova men’s soccer adds defender Elan Koenig as transfer from Wisconsin

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Elan Koenig, a gifted defender from Los Angeles who started 52 games over three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, will enroll at Villanova as a graduate transfer. He’ll join the Wildcats ahead of the 2020 regular season, which is scheduled to begin in late August.

“Elan is an experienced center back with great passing skills, a high-level understanding of the game and valuable leadership qualities,” stated Villanova Head Coach Tom Carlin. “He has played in a lot of big games with Wisconsin, including their NCAA Sweet Sixteen game and Big Ten Championship in 2017.

“Having a graduate school transfer of this stature and with this much experience join our program for 2020 will give us a serious chance to contend for the Big East title. ”

Koenig is a product of the Los Angeles Galaxy Academy program and helped it earn a USDDA national championship in his time there. After sitting out the 2015 season at Wisconsin, he moved into the starting lineup in 2016, starting all 19 games he appeared in for the Badgers. In 2017, he started 15 times before a knee injury sidelined him for the entirety of the 2018 season.

As a redshirt senior in 2019 he started all 18 games he appeared in and was credited with an assist in a Sept. 8 game against Lehigh.

Koenig is the second former Badger to join the Wildcats in recent seasons. Back Enda O’Neil came to the Wildcats as a graduate transfer and played a key defensive role during the 2018 campaign.