After winning the Ivy League Championship last season and reaching the NCAA tournament, it looks like the women's soccer team has little room for improvement.
But the Big Green still hope to put the past behind them and start fresh with the 1994 season.
Last year the women's soccer team had a wildly successful season -- finishing 12-3-1 overall and 7-0-0 in the Ivy Leagues. They were ranked 14th in a national poll, and lost to the University of Connecticut 3-1 in the NCAA tournament.
"We can use last year as a standard," Coach Steve Swanson said, "but we can't look back on last season because we're not here to repeat. I think we have a lot of potential with a lot more to accomplish, and we need to make our own history."
This year's team has shown that defense will be one of its strengths. It held the powerful Connecticut team to a single goal in double overtime. Unfortunately the Big Green still came out on the wrong end of that game -- losing 1-0.
"We need to become more unpredictable in the offensive end of the field," Megan Owens '96 said. "We have individual goals we strive for each game, and if we reach those hopefully the rest will follow."
Dartmouth is returning 15 letterwinners from last year -- including eight starters and six first-or-second team All-Ivy picks.
Dartmouth did not only lose the game to Connecticut, they also lost their goal keeper and captain Michelle Conroy '95 who broke her kneecap in the first overtime.
Conroy, who allowed only eight goals last season and was 11-3-1 as a starter, will most likely be out for the entire season.
Heidi Hachtel '96 will replace Conroy as the net-minder.
"As a captain and a goalkeeper Michelle provided leadership on and off the field. I think that we'll just have to adjust to that little bit of adversity," Hachtel said.
Swanson said he is not worried about the team's response to the loss of Conroy.
"We will support Michelle and will miss her leadership, but we do have a lot of depth," Swanson said. "I think the team will rally together. In athletics adversity often brings out the best in you and I think we'll rise to the occasion."
Another loss the Big Green suffered was that of returning starter and forward Melissa McBean '97. McBean, who was an All-American last year and recently tried out for the under-20 U.S. national team, suffered a knee injury this summer but is expected to return midway through the season.
McBean was the team's leading scorer last season with seven goals and three assists.
"One positive [thing] about the team is that there are a lot of players capable of contributing," Swanson said. "We have a lot of depth, but we need to become more consistent for 90 minutes"
Using this depth and working up to its potential will be key if the Big Green hopes to remain competitive in the always strong New England region.
"We have the potential to be a great team, we just need to work hard and play the way we can play," Hachtel said. "That's going to take everybody giving all they've got all the time."
Even without McBean, the Big Green offense should still be strong. Brittanny Boulanger '95 scored five times last year and added three assists, and Jenna Kurowski '97 scored four goals.
The Big Green will have a chance to redeem themselves Thursday when they travel to the University of New Hampshire for a contest that is always intense.
"Playing against a New Hampshire team always provides a good atmosphere," Swanson said. "They've always been a tough team for us to play, and since we are such rivals [it] makes for a good contest."
League play will begin for Dartmouth Saturday at home when the Big Green take on the University of Pennsylvania. With every league game important, Dartmouth hopes to get off to a winning start.
"We have a lot of good experience and leadership," Swanson said. "At this point it is just a matter of getting a few games under our belt and getting the momentum going our way. We need to practice hard each day, and we must be prepared for every game."
