Written by Cadie Pierce (Wilmington Athletics)
WILMINGTON, Ohio – How Wilmington men’s soccer senior midfielder and captain Alfie Harris found his way to Wilmington College from England, is in his words, ‘actually a pretty good question.’
“I wanted to go to university, but not sure where, and I was playing college-level football [in England], and I wanted to keep playing because I loved it,” says Harris. The best way he could get his advanced studies and keep playing, was to come to the United States. “It’s taken much more seriously over here with 6-day weeks of training and games.”
After meeting with an agency, and engaging that process, he had about 10 schools initially interested. After narrowing it down to three schools, Harris attributed a reason for choosing Wilmington as Alex Van Der Slujis, the head coach in 2021, and the current head coach at Wright State University.
“[Alex] really sold me on the program, and Wilmington. And I fell in love with the idea of it,” said Harris. 
Van Der Slujis recalls the first time he saw and spoke to Harris, during the recruiting process.
“I really liked his game a lot and knew from a soccer perspective he was going to be a great fit,” said Van Der Slujis. “After speaking with him and getting to know him, I knew I had to get him to Wilmington.”
Harris had never set foot in Wilmington, other than seeing it on Google Maps, until he flew to Cincinnati and was met by Van Der Slujis’s coach when he played at Wilmington; our International Enrollment Executive, Bud Lewis.
“Meeting [Lewis] was a great way to be introduced to what is Wilmington and it’s soccer program,” said Harris. “I fell in love with it straight away and never looked back.”
However, once Harris arrived and started playing for Van Der Slujis, he knew the future would be bright for Harris.
“He was mature, he was tough, and he cared a lot about the process,” said Van Der Slujis. “It was an great honor to be able to coach him and I knew he was going to be a future captain for the Quakers.”
Harris, a double major in Political Science and English, with a cumulative GPA of a 3.98, is from North Molton, in Devon, approximately four hours southwest of London. Devon one of England’s 48 “ceremonial counties,” one of 84 “local government counties,” and is one of the original 39 counties.
Harris attended and played at South Molton Community College, which would be equivalent to middle school and the first two years of high school. He played an additional two years, equivalent to the last two years of high school, at Exeter College. After completing further studies at Exeter, he came across the Atlantic to Wilmington.
Taking a jump to leave his hometown, a village of around 1,000 people, in the English countryside, to another country, and Wilmington, a town of 10,000 people is a risk and a challenge for anyone.
Harris enables his success to building connections on campus from day one, from teammates, his freshman year roommate, fellow Brit and former Quaker soccer player, Max Coppock. “He helped me adapt very easily to the ‘American Way,’ even though there wasn’t much cultural adaptation,” says Harris.
“I love pretty much every day at Wilmington College – it’s a shame it’s getting colder,” says Harris. “With the warmer weather we were able to get outside more.”
The favorite part for Harris, especially now, is the close friends he spends his waning days with; Kaden Young, Jackson Beske, Luke Washenfelder, Connor Niedemire, Ryan Forino, Andre Hagborg and Peyton Tennis.
“When we get the chance to go off campus, we go golfing at the local courses, movies, and go around town.”
One of the joys for him of being at Wilmington, is the access to elite level soccer, specifically FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew.
“We had a volunteering opportunity with FC Cincinnati last year and serve some drinks and make money for the program,” says Harris. “It’s always fun being around elite level [soccer].”
Outside of Harris’s soccer commitments, he works in the writing center and traveled with the Political Science program, lobbying politicians with Professor Michael Snarr, and participating in Model Arab League, with Marlaina Leppert-Wahl.
“I love the ‘Wilmington Way’, building personal connections with a professors, as opposed to a big Division 1 School where they may not even know your name.”
Through his participation with Leppert-Wahl and the Model Arab League, he has an opportunity to travel to the United Arab Emirates in January 2025.
“I am always looking for extended opportunities and chances to develop both in the real world and classroom,” says Harris.
With that, Harris will be set graduate in May 2025, with a bright future ahead, wherever his path may lead. But until that point, he leads an 11-win Quaker men’s soccer team as their captain.