When they reported for preseason training in August, neither new women’s soccer coach Erica Walsh nor her incoming class of eleven freshmen knew what to expect from the upcoming season.

But with a tough 2006 season in the past, the future looks bright for the women’s soccer program. Last Wednesday, the Ivy League announced its selection of Lauren Mann, the Crimson’s freshman goalkeeper, as its Rookie of the Year. Mann joined fellow freshman Lizzy Nichols and junior Megan Merritt on the league second team, while senior Laura Odorczyk was named as a first-team selection for the second time in her four-year career.

Falling in between that first day of training camp and Wednesday’s announcement, though, was a tough 3-13-1 season. Hampered by injuries and youth—there were only three upperclassmen on Harvard’s roster to eleven freshmen—the Crimson struggled to play ninety solid minutes against the league’s top competition.

“Having very few upperclassmen and a lot of underclassmen wasn’t beneficial to us this year, but will be so beneficial in the future,” Odorczyk said. “[The freshmen] will really know what to expect going into next season.”

This shortage of upperclassmen thrust the new freshman class into starting and leadership positions. Mann started all 17 games for Walsh’s young team, and six freshmen started against Ivy League champion Columbia in Harvard’s final game of the season.

“Everyone was forced into leadership roles earlier than I think we would have wanted,” Mann said. “But everyone did well with it. We had to get comfortable, and then we could start playing like ourselves.”

And for Mann, “playing like herself” meant three shutouts and a league-leading 84 saves.

“The transformation Lauren went through last season was one of the most remarkable I’ve seen in a long time,” Walsh said. “She came in with the tools and athleticism, but her vocal leadership and confidence were things that came by the end of the season.” Nichols, one of the league’s top rookies in her own right, led the team in scoring and started all 14 games in which she appeared.

But while she appreciates her second team selection, Nichols expects that the team’s real achievements are still to come.

“It’s great to be recognized, and I’m proud of all my teammates,” Nichols said. “But what’s really important to me is an Ivy League championship for this team, and I have no doubt that that’s in our future. We’re coming away from this season even hungrier for an Ivy title.”

Entering next season, Walsh’s Class of 2010 will have been tested in tight late-game situations and against some of the nation’s top squads. The Crimson played in four overtime games, and four of Harvard’s nine non-conference opponents ranked in the top twenty teams nationally.

“We went through more this year than most teams go through in four years,” Mann said. “We can only look back on it from a more mature standpoint.”

Walsh believes that her young team gained not only game experience, but a reality check.

Coming from the elite club teams in their respective regions, her talented freshmen had to learn that they might not always be stars, and that nothing but a full effort would be rewarded with success.

“They’re used to always being more talented than their opponents,” Walsh said. “They’ve realized that there are all different levels of collegiate play, and that if they don’t perform to their highest level, they won’t get results.”

But the team’s lone senior knows that this season has prepared the freshmen and their team for next year’s challenges.

“The leadership they gained this season from starting so many games will help the team in the future,” Odorczyk added. “There are really a lot of leaders to follow in that class.”

—Staff writer Emily W. Cunningham can be reached at ecunning@fas.harvard.edu.