In the recent NCAA tournament, Mayer finally found herself playing right wing forward for the first time in four years. She obviously hadn't lost her touch, scoring the Crimson's lone goal in its 2-1 loss to St. Louis, last Saturday in the NCAA quarterfinals--only the fifth goal scored against St. Louis all season. In spite of all the switching around this fall, Mayer is second on the squad in scoring with 17 goals, and second in shooting and assists as well.

Despite her contributions to the team, Mayer has never earned the post-season honors that some of her teammates have. Her freshman year, 10 starters and a substitute were named to the Alt-Lvy squad, but Mayer was overlooked. During the past two years, Alt-Lvy selections have not included Mayer. either.

The Laid-back Southerner takes in all in stride. "After my freshman year, I learned not to expect anything. Awards are what other people perceive of your performance, but what's important is how you think you've done."

When the frost and show arrive, Mayer does not put away the soccer cleats, she just moves inside and plays indoor soccer with some of her teammates. Then in the spring she plays club soccer in Wellesley with players and alumnae from nearby colleges. This spring however she is considering playing softball.

The soccer team that Mayer captains is very different from the one she joined when she arrived here four years ago. In 1979 the Harvard women's soccer team was in its second years varsity and undergoing growing pains. As a result, the style of play and the level of competition were very different from the way they are today.

"There were some girls who had some skills, but mostly we got into shape and learned to kick the ball." Mayer remembers. "We just out-hustled our opponents. We didn't use much skill or many tactics,"

The big change came last year when a group of players arrived who had played organized soccer under real coaches and in conjunction with their schools. These new players were not just good athletes who could kick the ball, they were also skilled soccer players.

"When the freshmen arrived last year, it allowed the whole team to play with more fine case." Mayer says. "We developed a style that allows us to use short passes as well as the long ball."

This combination of old style hustle and new finesse led to last year's incredible success when the boters won the Lvy Champion ship. But this year the team just wasn't able to live up to everyone's expectations--those of the funs, the coach and even the players themselves. The squad ended up with a 6-5-2 record, the worst so far in its short history.

"We started the season out with a loss and then a lie. That's a hard way to start." Mayer says. "I think that there was a fear that we wouldn't be as good and we didn't play with much confidence."

Looking over her four-year Harvard career, the game which stands out most in her mind is the Eastern Championship Final her freshman year, when Harvard tied Cortland State for the title. "It was icy, snowy, dark and we went into triple overtime." Mayer recalled with a shudder. "It was so emotional and it hurt so much to play. It taught you to appreciate good conditions and trying hard."

Reflecting back on that game, Mayer says thoughtfully, "Maybe the last two years have been too easy."