Walker twins net strong results

In the sports world, siblings are a particularly unique phenomenon, particularly when those siblings are twins. This is the case for two Xavier men's soccer players, Will and Matt Walker. Though the 19-year-old brothers

are twins, Will is a redshirt freshman, and Matt is a traditional sophomore. Matt had the traditional recruitment

and commitment process. He committed to play at Xavier the fall of his freshman year, playing without his brother for the first time in his life. Originally, Will had committed to Northern Illinois University (NIU) with the intention of playing

soccer. His plans changed when NIU took away his scholarship. "I couldn't afford to go there, and I didn't really want to go there anymore. I didn't feel that valued. So, after a couple months I got out of it. I had to wait half a semester

coming in, and then Xavier was looking at me," Will said.

The Walker brothers, Cincinnati natives, attended Batavia High School and played soccer together. They have always played on the same team, never against each other.

Had Will remained at NIU, the brothers would have played against each other for the first time this fall when the Musketeers took on the Huskies in the Lakeside Classic in Chicago. Will quickly made his decision to transfer to Xavier, but unfortunately, he did not make the decision

in time to be eligible for the 2010 season. Will sat out for a semester, and now has one more semester of eligibility than his brother. Though the brothers enjoy playing together, they have occasionally caused some distress for the opposing teams. "People get us mixed up all the time on the field. They'll get the jersey numbers wrong when they're announcing. We had the same pair of shoes, so we got different laces so people could tell [us apart]," Matt said.

Both Will and Matt have played in all eight games so far this season. Each brother has also scored one goal. Will currently leads Xavier with three assists. The brothers contribute not only leading statistics for the Musketeers, but they also benefit from playing on the same team.