In late October, we caught up with Donavan Phillip, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year who has helped NC State remain near the top of the rankings all season. Phillip played in The National League and competed at the USYS National Championships while playing for BVB Pittsburgh (PA-W) [now Pittsburgh Independence].
Hear about his journey — from his early days in Saint Lucia playing all over the field to his growth into a potent striker. And get a glimpse into his hopes for the future and how he wants to make an even bigger impact for the next generation of players.
Note: the following has been edited for clarity and brevity.
We first saw you as a dominant forward for BVB Pittsburgh (now Pittsburgh Independence) in The National League. When you were younger, did you always play up front?
No. When I started playing, I actually played a bit of everywhere on the field. My main position was left back and center back. Then, when I was around 15, I played a national tournament. I played in goal for Saint Lucia in a CONCACAF U-15 cup. We ended up winning that tournament. I conceded one goal in the four games we played.
I played everywhere on the field, from defensive midfield to goalie. But I mainly started playing as a left back.
When did you begin focusing on being an attacking player?
After a while, I realized I was a little more powerful than the kids I played back home. I was a little bit bigger, a little bit faster. So, I knew I had the edge and, at the end of the day, goals win games. It’s fun stopping goals, but if you have no one up top scoring, then you’re just drawing games. After a while, I talked to my coach, which was my mom at the time. I was like, ‘Just try me up top. Let me play on the wing and let me go score goals.’ I used to take goal kicks and kick it box-to-box, so she figured I might as well try to go hit it in the goal from up there.
I started watching little videos of Lewandowski, Ronaldo and Neymar. I progressed to being more striker-focused. One of my favorite strikers is [Alexander] Isak because of his movement and the way he plays and adapts to be at the right spot at the right time. I look at [Olivier] Giroud a lot, too, because he’s so good in the air and has scored some spectacular goals in his career. I started focusing more on those type of strikers because I knew I was going to be more of an attacking player who can run behind the defense. I tried to adjust my game to that. When I was 16 or 17, it stuck. I was like, ‘OK. This is what I want to do.’ I found myself enjoying soccer at my peak.
Do you remember when you first got a feeling that you could be a dominant or high-level goal scorer?
The specific moment is when I was about 10 or 11 playing up in a U-14 tournament in Saint Lucia. I was playing as a left back, and I was tied for the most goals in the tournament. From there, I thought: ‘If I can score goals from this position, what if I was pushed a little higher as a winger or striker? I’d have like two or three times more goals than I have now.’ It was that moment that I realized I can score goals since I was doing it from the back line. So, I wanted to take the risk and go up top. Plus, strikers are the first line of defense, so I could still defend while scoring goals.
I talked to my mom, my coach at the time, and asked her to put me up there. She said, ‘go ahead,’ and then I pushed up to play on the wing. The goals started rolling in, and I started playing more centrally, which led to more goals. I eventually moved into a central striker by myself, and I found a lot of success. That’s when I knew I could do this and become a legit striker.
How did playing in the National League and going to National League events help your development and help with the recruiting process?
It helped my development a lot because we were playing against some really quality kids. When I started in the National League for BVB, I was a little shaky or nervous. I would go into the showcases and those would feel like our finals.
In terms of recruiting, it really helped me. I got recruited straight from the National League. I signed for Oakland right after we won the league my last year. The coach came and watched the entire event, and I signed right after that.
Everyone’s story is a little different. After working so long for something, you finally get it. And right after you get it, you get offered an opportunity to play college soccer at a Division I school. It really meant a lot to me at that point. Having so many eyes on me opened doors for a lot of players on my team to get looks. It helped a lot of my old teammates to get recruited being around National League during those years.
Looking back at that time, do you have a favorite memory of playing in the National League or at the USYS National Championships with BVB?
Oh, I would say my favorite memory was playing against, well they’re Spire right now, but we were playing against Pennine in the National League in the Great Lakes. That was my favorite memory. I want to say that game ended 2-2, but it was one of the most fun games I ever played in throughout my career.
Another memory was when we played against Libertyville. They beat us, 1-0, to knock us out of the 2022 National Championships, but it was one of the most electric and exciting games throughout the entire championships, people were saying. They went on that year and won, so it was one of those bittersweet moments. We lost to them, but we knew we gave the team that won the National Championship the best run for their money, and they told us we were the hardest team they ever faced.
Looking at where you’re at now, you transferred from Oakland to NC State, and you’re having an amazing year. What’s it like to be a key player and a primary goal scorer for one of the top teams in Division I college soccer?
It means a lot. If you told me I’d be in this situation two or three years ago, I’d probably laugh and be like, ‘that’s nearly impossible.’ It’s seeing all the hard work and all that effort you put in throughout your career finally paying off.
They treat the players right and do everything in their power to let you be the best person you can be. You don’t have to play scared. You can take risks. That’s when I shine the most: when I can go in and be the best version of myself and just enjoy soccer like I’m back in Saint Lucia playing like when I was 8 years old. Until today, I still cannot believe I’m in that situation. They give you the tools you need. It’s up to you to apply yourself and be in that right mindset, and then everything else falls in place.
What are your goals for the rest of the season, both individually and as a team?
Individually, my main goal is to hit that 20-goal mark. Especially with the postseason, to hit that 20 mark is my individual goal.
As a team, getting to the ACC Tournament finals and past the Elite 8 — so to get to the final four of the NCAA Tournament. Everyone wants to say the goal is to win the national title, but I think if we get to the final four and put ourselves in that situation, then it’s possible we can do something special.
Not to look too far in the future, where do you hope to see yourself a few years from now within the game of soccer?
I hope to see myself playing professionally somewhere. My main goal is to start in MLS and go to Europe from there. I know everyone dreams to play like Europe immediately, but I always dreamed of my career starting in MLS in the U.S. and then moving on. It’s getting that pro soccer experience and then moving to Europe when I’m ready. But I see myself hopefully making my debut in the Premier League and playing in the Champions League.
Lastly — an off-field question. You were on the ACC All-Academic team last year. What are you studying?
I was in elementary education, but I just transferred into sports management. I had a moment when I was talking to a kid back home, and they were telling me I’m their role model, and they look up to me and they want to kind of follow my path — go to the U.S., study, get a degree and then try to play professionally after that.
That opened my eyes. That was one of the main reasons I changed into sports management.
My goal, when my career is done, is to go back to Saint Lucia and use the connections to help get kids opportunities outside of Saint Lucia. I feel like we have a lot of talent, but since the island is so small, it’s hard to see. It’s hard to see all the talent, and it’s hard to get opportunities to leave the island.
I want to be a connection between the U.S. and Saint Lucia, specifically — to help expose the kids that don’t have a lot but still have the talent. Try to give them a window of opportunity to come to the U.S. and maybe follow my footsteps — go to boarding school to get them ready. Go the college route if that’s still in play. Get opportunities to go pro. That’s why I went into sports management, where I could either be a teacher or a coach to help give those kids the opportunities that I got. I’m lucky because I was the only one that left from the tournament we played. I want to give kids the opportunity to go and be themselves and make a name for themselves.
NC State photos by Zander Gabriel-Tusher
