Passion required to play

The IU men’s soccer team is known by many as one of the greatest college soccer programs ever because of its winning tradition. Big-name players, now remembered as IU greats, have come through the IU soccer program on their way to the pros.\nBut IU’s success has also been based on the scrappy guys who do the dirty work that has allowed those greats to be remembered.\nFreshman forward Neil Wilmarth and junior midfielder Brad Ring are those players on this year’s IU soccer team. Both players hustle and provide offensive opportunities for their teammates but are a little different than the usual grind-it-out-type of player. They are threats to score on the field and have to be accounted for by opposing defenses.\nRing has been particularly successful offensively. He showed his skill once again in IU’s last contest Wednesday against the University of Illinois at Chicago when he scored IU’s lone goal in a win. Though he was the only source of offensive output for his team, he was still playing like himself on the field and was in the mix for every loose ball.\nIU coach Mike Freitag said he wouldn’t want to face someone like Ring on the field.\n“Ring is a warrior,” Freitag said. “I’d hate to play against him, because you know you’re going to get banged in the mouth, and he’s going to be fighting you for every head ball.”\nWilmarth said he takes cues from the work ethic Ring displays on the field.\n“How (Ring) acts on the field makes people follow in his footsteps and work hard,” Wilmarth said. “Because if one person on your team is working hard, it makes everyone want to do the same.”\nWilmarth is no slacker on the field himself, and his hard work has brought him opportunities he has taken advantage of. He helped the Hoosiers turn a major corner in their season during their Sept. 26 game against Butler. His hustle set up opportunities for junior midfielder Billy Weaver that led to two goals, giving IU the win. \nThe indirect effect Wilmarth has on the game is what sets him apart. Though it doesn’t show up in the statistics sheet, the plays he makes are imperative to IU’s success. \nWilmarth said he works hard to create opportunities that may change the course of a game.\n“With this team, we just needed someone to provide a spark offensively, and I was just lucky enough to get that opportunity,” Wilmarth said of the Butler game. “I just wanted to get out there on the field and make something happen, and it helped us to finally turn our season around.”\nFreitag said he thinks the effort Wilmarth puts forth on the field has affected other people’s play and made them work harder.\n“I’m proud of how hard he’s worked, and I think his example of hustle and fight has rubbed off on other players,” Freitag said. \nThough Wilmarth and Ring are both standouts on the field for one of the nation’s best soccer programs, they share a mentality that provides that extra push they possess in their game. Both Ring and Wilmarth said they don’t believe they’re the most skilled players on the field, and that they work harder to make up for what they don’t have. \n“You have to (make) do with what God gave you,” Ring said. “I’m not the most skillful player in the world, so I have to prove I deserve to be on the field through hard work.”\nRing went on to say that hard work has been his calling card, and that it got him to where he is today.\n“Hard work has always been one of my strong points and helped me excel,” Ring said. “I have to keep that up in order to be on the field and continue being one of the leaders on this team.”