With Laura Bellamy '13 behind the bench as a coach, it is now up to sophomore Emerance Maschmeyer to protect the net.

A year ago, the stage was set for freshman goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer to thrive, with mentors in senior goaltender Laura Bellamy ’13 and legendary coach Katey Stone.

This season, Maschmeyer will have to do without the winningest coach in Division I history and one of the most notable goaltenders ever to don Crimson.

Bellamy achieved history, finishing second in program history with 19 career shutouts, but was in part overshadowed by Maschmeyer, who took the reins at the end of the season and led the Crimson to its first NCAA tournament in four years.

“Maschmeyer is a really incredible player,” sophomore forward Miye D’Oench said. “She is so incredibly focused.”

Today, her mentor is behind the bench as an assistant coach watching the goaltender who exceeded the high expectations set for her.

“I think she has a really incredible balance of business and fun that makes her a really great player,” D’Oench said. “She is able to lock in and focus on a game without letting all the seriousness throw her off.”

Last season, Maschmeyer and Bellamy started the season more or less alternating in net.

After a successful campaign with the Canadian national team, the incoming freshman got off to a red-hot start, allowing four goals in her first six games.

In her tenth start, the freshman finally lost her first game, 3-1.

The two-goal margin proved to be the largest Maschmeyer would let her team lose by the entire season. In fact, the Crimson’s netminder lost just three of the 20 games she started by more than a goal and did not let up more than three goals in a single game all season.

After the loss, Maschmeyer bounced right back. From her next game in early February, she got to showcase her skills consistently, starting all but two of the Crimson’s remaining 13 games.

Maschmeyer looked particularly at home in the Bright-Landry Hockey Center where she allowed just eight goals in eight games.

This season will present a whole new set of challenges for the sophomore looking to build on her success.

In addition to losing Bellamy and Stone, Harvard will have to fill the void left by co-captain and national team member Josephine Pucci and fellow seniors Lyndsey Fry and Michelle Piccard, who are also spending this year playing for the U.S. national team.

Around the league some of the key scorers who gave Maschmeyer fits are returning.