21
Oct, 2019
Ball State midfielder Lizzie Philibin has developed into one of the top players in the Mid-American Conference. But the journey hasn’t been a simple one.
The Youngstown, Ohio native arguably was the best player to ever come out of Cardinal Mooney High School. She led her team to three district titles, was named First Team All-County and District Player of the Year, and tallied an astonishing 87 goals and 58 assists.
It came as no surprise when the top schools in the country came calling for this blue-chip recruit. Philibin chose the University of Michigan and spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Wolverines. She then transferred to Ball State for the 2019 fall season. In the process, she changed positions from outside back to outside midfielder. It’s been a learning experience to say the least.
“I think what I learned most from my time at Michigan is that when you think you can’t do anymore or push any harder, you can,” Philibin noted. “This applies to fitness, school, and just soccer in general. I would say overall it was a smooth transition, the style of play is a little different and I went through a position change, but other than that it was smooth sailing.”
Philibin has made the best of her time with the Cardinals, making 15 appearances so far this season. It’s clear that she made the right choice.
“Being from the Midwest I grew up very familiar with the MAC so when Ball State reached out the first day that my name was in the transfer portal, I was excited to look into it,” Philibin added. “After visiting and learning all about their recent success and the direction the program was going, I was excited for the new transition and the next chapter of my collegiate career.”
That next chapter has been an exciting and challenging one as playing in the ultracompetitive MAC is not for the faint of heart.
“The speed of play is much faster,” Philibin continued. “For the MAC specifically, it has a heightened physicality. What I noticed coming from Michigan is that teams in the MAC don’t back down from physical challenges, they thrive in them.”
Ball State women’s soccer assistant coach Katy Etelman has been impressed with Philibin this fall.
"From day one of Lizzie arriving on campus she has shown an extremely high work rate,” Etelman said. “She is always on top of her fitness. No matter the day of the week or which drill we are in you can rely on her to give her all. Lizzie has helped strengthen our culture and is respected by her teammates."
All of her success at the collegiate level actually started back home in Ohio with Internationals SC. Philibin noted that the influence of Zdravko Popovic and Keri Sarver helped her prepare for Division I soccer and life in general.
“I was with the Internationals from the time I was nine all the way up until I graduated from high school,” Philibin said. “These two coaches were not just a big part of my soccer development, but my overall character development as well. Looking back on it now I realize just how much they cared for me not just as a soccer player, but as an individual as well. I really loved and enjoyed my years with the Internationals. I have nothing but good things to say about them.”
The club’s strong environment and culture helped Philibin prepare for the demands of the collegiate game.
“I was surrounded by other players that had the same dream as me, to play DI soccer,” Philibin said. “When you are in a like-minded environment, naturally everyone pushes each other to become better. Zdravko and Keri held all their players to a very high standard. Something that stuck with me that Zdravko used to say was that it’s not enough just to practice, you have to practice perfect to get better. Zdravko and Keri gave us the tools, but ultimately it was up to me to take advantage of those things to get where I wanted to be. Also, I remember they used to set up a college recruiting day where they had coaches from DI, DII, and DIII level talk to us about the ins and outs of recruiting at each level.”
Getting to play in a national league like the ECNL also helped Philibin get noticed by college coaches from across the country.
“The main way it prepared me was that the teams we were playing against had other DI players so every game was played at a high level,” Philibin concluded. “Also, the professional kind of treatment you receive at ECNL events is closely related to how you will be treated in college. Most of my teammates at both schools I have attended have gone through ECNL.”
Internationals SC Club and ECNL Director Keri Sarver is proud of Philibin’s accomplishments and the kind of player and person she has become.
“Lizzie is a perfect example of how far hard work and perseverance can take you,” Sarver explained. “During her club years, Lizzie was a player who could be counted on to give 100% day in and day out. She was consistent and disciplined and made those around her better. She overcame an ACL tear late in her high school career and we are so happy to see that she is now thriving at Ball State.”
Philibin has certainly been thriving, scoring her first collegiate goal against Buffalo on October 6th. Based on her history as a prolific goalscorer, this is sure to be the start of something special.
Photo Credit: Kyle Crawford of Ball State Sports Link