Then came sophomore year, the year of Sue St. Louis. She knocked in 20 goals and added six assists to lead the team to a sparkling 13-1 record and the first-ever Ivy League championship. In addition, Sue was named to the All-Ivy team and received player-of-the-week honors from Soccer America magazine, the first woman to be so recognized.
Last year her output tailed off to 14 goals, but the team enjoyed its finest season ever, with a 15-1-1 record, an Ivy League title, and a share of the first-ever Eastern Championship with Cortland State.
Going into this afternoon's opening round of the first-ever national intercollegiate women's soccer tournament against Northern Colorado, Sue St. Louis has scored a total of 12 goals this season and added 5 assists to lead her team in scoring.
But what happened to the Sue St. Louis of the 19 and 20 goal years? Well, she hasn't changed--it's the players around her who have.
"Now we've got four or five people who are just as capable of scoring as I am, which makes us better as a team because we are harder to shut down.
"I still take a lot of shots and go for goals. I still like to score. I haven't lost that urge to be in the spotlight. I guess I'm still a prime donna. But this team's come a long way in four years and I've changed with it."
And now the Crimson is in Colorado for the nationals. "It seems too good to be true. To be a little selfish, it's the perfect finale--there isn't anything better than this to cap my college career. And to think of it from the team's point of view, it's such a great honor."
What's it been like having four years of Sue St. Louis? Crimson coach Bob Scalise knows how lucky he has been.
Super, Great
"It's been just great. Super. She's a tremendous natural athlete--you don't score all those goals without being really really super. I'm certain we're going to miss her next year."
Sue St. Louis will end her competitive athletic career with the national tournament and next week's game with Yale, rather than play lacrosse or run track as she has done in previous years.
"I feel like . . . I feel like this tournament and the end of my college career is going to be such a fitting close; I don't want to be hanging on to past successes." The Latin American History major, who has never had a full semester here away from sports, will become what she terms a "normal student."
"I'm just going to take my books out and sit on the Charles and watch the crew boats go by. I'll get to see Boston, the Fogg, the Museum of Fine Arts down-town. I've never had time for any of this."
One thing's for sure--the time Sue St. Louis spent playing soccer for Harvard was time definitely well spent.