Sophomore midfielder Bryce Weed had as much to do with the Harvard women's soccer Ivy League championship last season as anyone else on the team did.

Weed scored more goals in league play than any other Crimson player and was named a First Team All-Ivy selection in the process.

Not bad for a rookie.

Yet as integral a contributor as she was, Weed was simply surprised to see as much playing time as she did, given the renown surrounding most of her fellow freshman teammates.

"Coming into Harvard, I had no expectations of playing," she said. "I knew I was joining a very talented team with exceptional classmates."

Modest though she is, Weed isn't kidding when it comes to her classmates. Before they ever even donned a Harvard uniform, the Crimson's eight members of the Class of 2003 were ranked the seventh-best recruiting class in the nation by Soccer Buzz magazine. It marked the first time in the history of the program that a group of entering Harvard freshmen had been recognized in such way, and was cause enough to make them each anxious about their place among such a constellation of stars.

"I didn't quite know what I was getting into last season," forward Joey Yenne said. "Obviously, I had hoped to play and contribute right away, but I wasn't exactly sure what to expect."

Needless to say, it did not take them long to figure it out. Last fall, the Crimson's eight rookie phenoms made an indelible impact from the start of the preseason, as half of them won starting jobs. At season's end, all four of those regular starters earned All-Ivy honors, as forwards Yenne and Beth Totman, along with goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther, were named to the team recognition to go along with Weed's selection to the first team.

The other four freshmen provided immeasurable support coming off the bench. As one of the team's top reserves, midfielder Orly Ripmaster notched eight points on the year, including two goals against Cornell that garnered her Ivy Rookie of the Week honors in October. Fullback Katie Urbanic and forward Caitlin Butler each registered points in their rookie campaigns as well, and Amy Cooper competed in seven games as part of a talented corps of midfielders.

From the very beginning, the octet has been every bit the all-star ensemble predicted. Collectively, their high school resumes read like a Who's Who in amateur women's soccer. Among the eight of them are four club soccer stars, three former state players-of-the-year, two U.S. under-18 national team players, and, in Yenne, a player ranked fifth all-time in the national high school soccer annals for most goals in a season (71).

And just how critical were they to the success of last year's team? Consider this: In the one game the freshmen were forced to miss because of extenuating circumstances, Harvard went on to suffer its only regular-season loss of the year. Had the game against New Hampshire not been scheduled on the road during orientation week when Harvard University rules forbid first-years from leaving campus, the 1999 Crimson might well have entered the postseason with an unblemished record.

Regardless, coming into the 2000 season, the prospects appeared limitless given that all eight players would be returning with a year of seasoning under their belts. But before the now-veterans were even able to compete in their first game as sophomores, the events of the preseason have seemed to suggest that they are, well, jinxed.

One of the first casualties this fall was Totman, the team's leading scorer in 1999, who has been out of commission for six weeks now because of stress fractures in both her legs. Though she is still out indefinitely, she will undergo a bone scan on Monday that is two weeks ahead of schedule.

Just as devastating a blow to the Crimson, however, has been the loss of Gunther, last year's Ivy League Rookie Year and the Crimson's most experienced goaltender, who has been sidelined due to bone chips in her knee.

Of all the tribulations, though, the most unfortunate tragedy has befallen Butler, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in practice the first week of September and will now miss the entire season.

All the damage has taken a mental toll on the lot of them.

"I was looking forward to this year because I now feel comfortable and I don't feel that awkward feeling that you have when you're new," Totman said. "The injury that I have now was a huge letdown, but I can only try to keep in good shape in hope that I'll be able to play."

With the trio of sophomore stars missing, five of their classmates remain to pick up the pieces. Ripmaster, for one, has already demonstrated an ability to shoulder some of the offensive load. Now a starter at midfielder, Ripmaster scored what proved to be the game-winning goal against Vermont last Friday.

"Although my class has experienced some serious injuries, which are tough to work through, a core of us is still eager to be leaders on the team and experience another winning season," she said.

Other players are stepping up their production, too. Yenne, for instance, netted her first career hat trick last Friday. Just two games into the season, she already has half as many goals as she did all of last year when she was the team's second-leading scorer behind Totman.

"Because our class is so phenomenal on the field, I feel that it's largely going to be our responsibility to take on a leadership role," Yenne said. "Even though we're only sophomores, we have the experience and talent to help this team get to the level we were at last year."

That wealth of experience should translate into helpful advice for the team's newest members. For the second year in a row, Harvard will boast an eight-person freshman contingent considered among the best in the nation, as Coach Tim Wheaton ushers in a group of recruits ranked 17th in a poll by Soccer Buzz.

Just like their predecessors, the new rookies are already evoking praise for their quick transition to the college game--an adjustment that, as Weed can say from personal experience, is never easy, but is definitely helped by team chemistry.

"Moving away from home for the first time and being immediately placed in a high intensity situation with little idea of what to expect was challenging for us all last year," she said. "However, the number of us and the immediate bond that we established with each other helped make every aspect of the transition much easier."

If Harvard's second wave of blue-chip recruits mature as quickly as its first did, the Crimson should have little trouble overcoming adversity to vie for the Ivy title, which, Totman says, has always been the team's aim.

"Our main goal is to win the Ivies and this is what we focus on," she said. "Winning an Ivy title my freshman year was a great feeling, and I don't want to, nor do I intend to, forget that feeling. I'm positive that the rest of the team feels the same way."