But Larson found it difficult to distinguish herself at the crowded WUSA Combine, in which the 200 invited players competed in a series of games in Boca Raton, Florida throughout the week preceding the draft. Both Zotter and Larson suggested that coaches were picking mainly based on name recognition in the end.

Larson will now rest her hopes on making the league through the individual tryouts held by the eight teams. At each team's training camp, there will open tryouts, on dates yet to be determined. The teams' present rosters--composed of 15 recent draftees, two foreign draftees and three initial U.S. National Team player allocations--are hardly set in stone.

"We would have the opportunity to try out with the individual teams," Larson said. "I'm definitely going to keep in touch with the league and [Commissioner] Tony DiCiccio. I have to send teams my resume, and figure out which teams need defenders."

Larson was the sweeper of a Crimson defense that gave up the fewest goals in the nation during the 1999 regular season. In 1998, she was a first-team All-Ivy selection, and she was Ivy Player of the Year in 1999.

Dartmouth's Kristina Luckenbill and Jessica Post, the Ivy Players of the Year in 1998 and 2000 respectively, were both late-round draft selections.

Larson expects that coaches will evaluate players more accurately in the training camp environment than they could at the combine.

"I think these individual team tryouts are a lot more appealing to see how you can play," Larson said. "There were 200 people at the combine, and you only got to play in four games. I don't know if that was enough. In individual tryouts you'll get to see how much you can play."