Carly Mercer of Clarkson and Jessica Campbell of Cornell, each of whom had multiple-goal games against Maschmeyer last season, will be back and facing the Crimson six days apart in mid-November.

While the incoming freshman class features help in the form of standout goalie Brianna Laing and defender Briana Mastel, the goaltender will be working with a team that returns only 11 upperclassmen.

“We have a very young team,” Maschmeyer said. “It means everyone is going to have to contribute.”

And while all indications point to Maschmeyer being in the driver’s seat for the starting goaltending position, it is still up for grabs.

“It’s a whole new year, so I have to prove where I stand again,” said Maschmeyer, who said she views the competition as an opportunity.

“It’s great that I have competition within the team,” Maschmeyer added. “It pushes us to get better.”

Maschmeyer has grown close with the classmates and teammates she has learned to rely upon.

“It’s really interesting,” D’Oench said. “We are in some ways very spread out but very close.”

While the goaltender may play in net, she is an integral part of the team’s offensive production, allowing the team to take more risks in the offensive zone.

“If you make a mistake you are not going to panic because you have somebody that you really trust behind you,” D’Oench said.

And while the squad is focused on taking the season one game at a time, it is not hard to imagine the goaltender once again coming up big in big games in the not-so-distant future.

Last season, Maschmeyer recorded back-to-back shutouts against Dartmouth to lead the Crimson to the ECAC semifinals.

Whatever the case may be with a year under her belt and the confidence of her team, Maschmeyer seems poised to succeed.

“I am very confident going into the season,” Maschmeyer said. “I know we are going to do great.”

—Staff writer Daniel A. Grafstein can be reached at dangrafstein@gmail.com.