“We have a strong group of girls leaving, and yes, it’s going to be a hard transition,” Egnaczyk said. “But we have a lot of depth. You can go list all the juniors and sophomores and our very good contributing freshman class, and I’m sure we’ll have a strong spring season. There are leaders there.”

On the defensive end, however, where statistics cannot nearly begin to tell the entire story, the Crimson will take a serious hit in 2004.

Harvard will lose backs Diana Bowen and Liz Andrews, tri-captain goalie Katie Zacarian—the Crimson career record-setter in shutouts—and Ms. Intangible herself, tri-captain back Jen Ahn, the long-time physical and emotional anchor of the backfield.

Junior netminders Anne Haig and Aliaa Remtilla will present Caples with two options between the pipes, but Harvard will need some of those less-heralded names—even lesser-known than Sackovich—to step up and fill in the gaps.

“Obviously, our defense is going to be extremely hard to replace,” freshman midfielder Jennifer DeAngelis said. “Our seniors are just amazing. We’re all going to have to step up and work hard in the spring and summer to fill their places in the coming year. But overall, I don’t even know if they can ever truly be replaced.”

“They’re practically our entire defense,” she continued. “We’re just going to have to work through it.”

It’s a good thing, then, that the Crimson started their youth movement early.

On one wintry, November morning in New York, it’s a good thing that Beth Sackovich made them all look younger—even if it was possibly, for some of them, the last time.