Former standouts going pro

When women's soccer player Wendy Dillinger graduated from IU in 1998, she played in soccer leagues across the country and competed in Europe, but the hope of a professional soccer league in the U.S. was a distant hope. With the formation of the Women's United Soccer Association, Dillinger's hope is becoming a reality.\nDillinger, with two other former IU standouts, Tracy Grose and Kelly Wilson, was selected by the WUSA to compete in its preseason workouts for position on one of eight teams. Dillinger was selected by the Atlanta Beat, Grose went to the Carolina Courage and Wilson was picked by the Bay Area CyberRays. \nDillinger and Grose are assistants for the IU women's soccer team, while Wilson is an assistant for Sonoma State's women's soccer squad. \n"I think it's great. What an opportunity for them," women's soccer coach Joe Kelley said. "The first women's professional soccer league, and we have three former players that are in the final mix. It's great for them. They're all good enough to do it, so it's going to be fun."\nKelley, the only coach IU women's soccer has ever known, coached all three at IU and is enthusiastic about their chances at making the league.\n"To be in that elite group just to begin with is really special for them," Kelley said. "I think they have a really good chance of making the final 20. They were the toughest people we had when they played for us."\nThe WUSA was originally founded by John S. Hendricks, chairman and chief executive of Discovery Communications, Inc. The league first selected players from the U.S. women's national team. Then the league held a week-long workout compound, during which 200 invitation-only players got the chance to participate in games and drills. At the end of the week, 120 of the players were selected in a 15-round draft to fill the roster spots.\nDillinger was the only one of the three former Hoosiers to participate in the compound, but was not selected in the draft. Now, Dillinger has her second chance, because teams in the league added eight players to up their rosters to 28. \nIn March, teams will meet in San Diego to participate in a preseason tournament. After that, the teams will cut their rosters to 20 players. Even those who have been drafted are eligible to be cut from the team.\n"I got invited to the tryouts with Atlanta and Carolina, and it was just a matter of going out for the three or four roster spots that each team had," Dillinger said. "Fighting with 18 to 20 other people for those spots got pretty competitive."\nDillinger played for IU in the 1993-95 and 1997 seasons, holds school career records for goals, assists and points and is the only IU player to score a goal in seven consecutive games. \n"Her athletic ability, her work rate and the fact that she plays with such intensity sets her apart from a lot of people in the league," Kelley said.\nEven though she was a goal scorer at IU, Dillinger is going to work more in a defensive position to improve her chances to make the league.\n"I'm not a real big fan of defense, but Joe has taught me to enjoy it more," Dillinger said. "It's different, but from coaching, I can see the importance of it."\nGrose was a teammate of Dillinger's during the 1995 and 1997 seasons and is second to Dillinger in career goals, assists and points.\n"They came looking for (Grose)," Kelley said. "They were very specific as to what they were looking for. They wanted somebody with her savvy who could create, basically, in situations where there wasn't much going on and create a goal and create an opportunity."\nJunior midfielder Kelly Kram has played with Grose and been coached by her and Dillinger. She said they can perform at the professional level.\n"I can't imagine they won't do unbelievably well," Kram said. "(Grose) is one of the best I have ever played with, and she is so smart. She can read the game well."\nWilson, the Hoosiers' team captain in 1996 and 1997, was more of a utility player during her tenure, playing many positions -- forward, outside midfield and outside back sweeper.\n"I think that gives her an advantage over a lot of people in that league," Kelley said. "The fact that she is versatile, she is a very good athlete and she has good speed and she has the ability to play Dillinger said she is looking forward to the chance to perform for a large audience but knows the competition will be tougher than what she faced in the tryouts.\n"We're going to be playing with the highest level of players in the world," Dillinger said. "It's going to be pretty incredible"