Walk-ons provide balance

The women's soccer team has recruited many of the best players in the country. But because the roster has 29 players, and the Hoosiers are only allowed 12 scholarships, most of the team is filled by walk-ons. \nAnd coach Joe Kelley has landed three walk-ons who are making an impact on the team.\nJunior Dana Philp is a back and midfielder. She is one of the team's leaders and a key component to a Hoosier team that has surpassed last year's win total already. Philp has started every game this year, and a total of 40 games in her collegiate career. \nPhilp came to IU as a walk-on from Blacklick, Ohio. She knew that during her senior year in high school she wanted to play soccer in college.\n"I could have played elsewhere, but I wanted to come here and try to work as hard as I possibly could as a walk-on," Philp said. "It is exciting. There was so much hard work I had to do to get to the position that I am in now. It's exciting to look back at it now, but there were days I don't want to remember from them."\nPhilp quit the team after her freshman year, but decided to come back in the pre-season of her sophomore year. \n"I didn't want to give up because I would always wonder what would have been," Philp said.\nSophomore Carly Everett is a back from Fort Wayne. After attending soccer camps at IU when she was younger, Everett became interested in playing here because she wanted to be like the players who counseled her. \nEverett has started 12 games, missing only one with an injury. Although Everett walked-on she was an immediate contributor for the Hoosiers last season, appearing in 18 games and anchoring the defense. She often matches up with the opponent's best striker. \nEverett said walking-on to the team was intimidating at first, but she became more comfortable as time went by. \n"I was scared because they didn't know who I was," she said. "Then I realized that I had no prior expectations to fulfill, so I could just go out there and prove myself." \nEverett said sometimes she became disheartened while trying to make the team. \n"It got pretty hard for a while," she said. "Sometimes I would lose my motivation, but I just loved soccer so I kept going with it." \nEverett said she encourages \nanyone to try and become a walk-on for the team. \n "Go in with expectations to achieve. Have fun and do the best that you can," she said.\n Jessica Laswell, a freshman from Lexington, Ky., is a midfielder who found out about IU's team by attending the soccer camps held in Bloomington. She chose IU because it was a big school with a good campus. \n"It's pretty exciting to be a part of this team," Laswell said. "It's great to play for a Division I school. I had other choices, but I wanted to play here because a big school like this will help me play at a higher level," Laswell said she could have had a full scholarship to play elsewhere, but choose IU because she "had a feeling" that she would be able to play here. She said she is happy with her decision to come to IU.\nLaswell said her goals coming into this season were to get better as a player. She said that she is meeting her goals, and can't wait for the day when she can get her first start. \n"Just to hear my name out there and be able to wave to everyone, that will make it all worth it," she said.\nLaswell was unaware that Everett and Philp were former walk-ons, but finding that out made her feel better about her future. \n"They are big players, and its good to know I can achieve that level," she said.\nKelley told of the passion walk-on players have. Kelley was a former men's soccer player who received a scholarship to play at IU, and had many walk-on teammates and players. He said he knows the desire walk-ons have. \n "When you are on scholarship here, you are being paid essentially to play," Kelley said. "Walk-ons have their own volitions out there because they love the sport and they love the competition. Philp, Everett and Laswell are three of the most competitive, dedicated and talented players we have."\nThe progress of these three players doesn't surprise Kelley. \n"These are players that I identified with attributes to be good," he said. "They've worked hard and deserve all of the credit. They are great players"