"It's easy to do well when you play on such a talented team," Finn said. And this group is just the most talented, hard-working I've ever seen."

Now, several years since that talented quintet first assembled on the lacrosse fields, Finn is able to look back--and smile. "We've grown so much together," says Finn, who by her own admission is better at lacrosse than field hockey (even though she co-captained the Crimson stick squad the past two years).

But Finn hasn't devoted all her energies to bringing fame and fortune to the lacrosse squad. Off the field, she's been working just as eagerly to support the entire women's athletic program. A member of the founding committee of the Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women's Athletics, which provides financial support for women's sports, Finn continues to serve as a member of the Foundation.

And while Finn has participated in the lacrosse squad's steady climb toward prominence, there's still one thing she hasn't seen--that first-ever national championship.

The last three years, the squad has finished seventh, fourth and sixth, respectively, in the nation. And except for that fourth place finish her sophomore year, Finn has seen it all from the sidelines.

Her freshman year, the Economics major suffered a thigh injury that kept her out of the entire NCAA tourney. Then, after her best year ever last year. Finn suffered the same thigh injury. So for the second time in three years, the Crimson's top performer's only contribution was as a cheerleader.

"Last year was probably the most disappointing thing," Finn says. "It was so hard to watch from the sidelines."

It was equally hard for Kleinfelder to have her key player on the bench. "Maureen really pulled through for us in some key games last year," Kleinfelder says. "It became very apparent when she wasn't in there."

This year--her final opportunity to win that vaunted national title--Finn vows she'll be in there. And that might be the key to Harvard's best finish ever. "I certainly hope she's there down the road," fellow All-American Francesca DenHartog says. "She definitely pulls through when you need her."

Kleinfelder believes a healthy Finn in the line-up could be just the thing to bring that championship home.

Before Finn's arrival, Kleinfelder says, Harvard couldn't compete with championship squads like Penn State.

"Now," she says, "we're in the same league."