Spotlight Series: Julia Walsh
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After discovering her favorite sport at the young age of five, Julia Walsh entered the club ranks with San Diego Soccer Club in 2012 when she was eight years old. Little did she know at the time that this would mark the beginning of a decade-long tenure with SDSC. It was during this time that Julia would not only develop into one of the best goalkeepers in San Diego, but also forge countless memories.
“Choosing a favorite moment over about a decade of playing for this club is quite difficult; there’s way too many,” Walsh noted. “I think my top two favorite memories during my time playing for SDSC have to be winning the State Cup when I was 10, which made the club's history; as well as competing for the USYS National Championships in Kansas City, Missouri in 2019, which we qualified for after outstanding performances in Las Vegas and North Carolina.”
Julia credits numerous coaches at the club for helping her develop into the player that has gone on to excel in both the youth and college ranks. The impact of a few specific coaches stood out to Julia as being particularly crucial.
“My first ever coach at SDSC was Anya Miller, who actually first encouraged me to try goalkeeping. After deciding I wanted to continue tending the net, I began working with Coach Nikolaj, who shaped me into a young, talented keeper and inspired me to want to become better at it,” remarked Walsh. She then shifts her focus to Coach Peter Stogsdill, who she insists gave her “the best youth soccer experience” in her seven seasons playing for him. “Coach Peter was encouraging, honest, knowledgeable, and extremely respectable, and I quite literally could not have asked for a better coach to inspire and lead me to the collegiate level”. Finally, Julia made sure to express her gratitude for the coach that she credits “almost all” of her goalkeeping ability to: Coach Guillermo Rodriguez. “Coach Guillermo Rodriguez shaped me into the athlete and soccer player that I am today. Since I was about thirteen years old, I began training with Coach Guillermo once, maybe twice, a week. I plan on continuing to train with him after returning from the east coast, while also helping him train young keepers in hopes that they may be inspired the same way Coach Guillermo inspired me. He always pushed me to do and be better, and he helped me love, and kick butt, at goalkeeping.”
All of those extra hours with Coach Guillermo certainly paid off in the long run. Walsh’s dominance on the field for SDSC showed college scouts that she was ready to advance to the collegiate level of soccer. In the end, it was Assumption University that would recruit her to be their keeper, a decision that has proven beneficial to both player and school. Walsh started in all 17 games in her first season with the Greyhounds, making 93 saves with a .861 save percentage along with 7 shutouts. Her tenacity in goal earned her a much-deserved spot on the All Rookie team of the NE10 Conference, in which she ranked third in saves, fourth in save percentage, and second in shutouts.
“Now that my season is over, I can officially say that college soccer rocks,” Walsh exclaimed. “Although it seemed overwhelming at times, my passion for the sport never declined.” In her first season she has found a mutual love for the sport between teammates, coaches and the student body, noting "everyone had fun playing while also wanting to complete."
Walsh’s rookie campaign with Assumption was littered with standout performances reflected in her aforementioned statistics. One moment, however, stands alone as her absolute favorite moment of the season, and with good reason.
“My favorite on-field moment hands down has to be advancing to the semifinals after a shootout in the quarterfinals,” Walsh determined. “I had three clutch saves, and my third save won us the game. I ran out and my team ran to me; it was like a movie.”
Her Hollywood-esque performances and clutch contributions shine a light on Walsh’s exceptional quality as a college athlete, with a career path that younger athletes would be justified in striving to replicate. Julia’s advice for these college soccer hopefuls? Pick the school that is best for them, both on and off the field.
“As much as I love soccer here at Assumption, I also chose the school because I know that if soccer were taken away from me for any reason, I’d still attend the school for its challenging academics and for its beautiful campus,” said Julia, who is also studying microbiology and mathematics. “It is important to truly love the school first, because education is your future before sports.” Julia continued by asserting the importance of perseverance in the recruitment process: “I decided on discontinuing my athletic career after high school during my junior year, but during my senior year, I changed my mind. There are always things that happen during life that might make you afraid of the future, but if you want it, I’d say just go for it, instead of letting fear deprive you of something you want.”
