After the Harvard women's soccer team's shocking 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Boston College Eagles in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it would be easy to be disappointed.

After all, the Crimson was ranked No. 7 in the country, was riding a 10-game win streak and had plastered the Eagles 4-0 a short month ago.

Looks, however, can be deceiving.

Few remember that at the start of the year, the thought of Harvard having one of its best seasons ever seemed improbable at best. Harvard faced many questions entering the season, as 1999 looked to be a model of rebuilding, not reloading.

With the graduation of the class of 1999 the Crimson lost one of the strongest, most successful groups in the program's history.

At the top of the list of departed stars was midfielder Emily Stauffer--arguably the best player ever to don a Harvard uniform. Stauffer steered the Crimson offense throughout her career, compiling the most assists in school history with 36, and earned two Ivy League Player of the Year awards along with four NSCAA/Umbro All-America selections.

Joining Stauffer in the exodus of Crimson stars was forward Naomi Miller. In Miller the Crimson boasted a four-time All-Ivy player and one of the more dangerous scorers in league history. The loss of Stauffer and Miller--currently third and fourth, respectively, on Harvard's career scoring list--left a gaping hole in the Crimson attack.

The Harvard defensive outlook entering the year was not much brighter, with the departure of graduated backs Jaime Chu and Devon Bingham. Chu and Bingham--First and Second Team All-Ivy selections respectively in '98--helped lead a stellar defensive backfield.