Therefore, for this year, balance is the word on Ohiri Field. Sure, the sight of a Harvard player running the length of the field for a goal will be rarer, but it will hopefully be replaced with the sight of more points from regular offensive plays.
"Last hear we relied too much on two or three people," sophomore attacker Daphne Clark said. "We need to be able to score off of a settled offense, which we weren't able to do at all last year."
Another possible benefit of the position switcheroo is the increase in player versatility. practically all of the defenders are schooled in offense; the same can be said for the attackers.
In women's lacrosse, versatility becoming increasingly necessary. A team can only plan what it will do to a degree, and situations arise in which a player has to be out of her natural position for some period of time.
Having interchangeable parts also allows Harvard to carry a smaller team than before. The varsity only consists of 19 players, about five less than usual.
"[Kleinfelder] wanted to have some of the more versatile players," Chelius said. "This way, she is confident that she can put anyone anywhere."
More than anything, this year will be a transition year. Not in the sense that Harvard will necessarily go through a year of woe before it can regain the glory of the past, but in the sense that in 1995 the team will find out if the juniors or sophomores can fill the shoes of their departed elders.
In previous years, the juniors and seniors stepped up. Harvard has, of course, made the six-team NCAA tournament for seven straight years. If things go right for the Crimson, that streak will not be in jeopardy.
"Look for people like Megan Hall, [junior] Maria Hennessey and Erin Cleary to come up really big," Winters said. "The three freshmen [Sarah Cable, Keren Gudeman and Holly Rogers] are also doing well."
1994 IVY STANDINGS OVERALL IVY Team W L PCT W L PCT Princeton 14 1 .933 6 0 1. 00 HARVARD 11 4 .733 5 1 . 833 Dartmouth 11 4 .733 4 2 .6 67 Penn 8 6 .571 3 3 .500 Yale 10 5 .667 2 4 .333 Brown 4 10 .286 1 5 .167 Cornell 4 10 .286 0 6 .000