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Mention the phrase “sophomore slump” around the Harvard women’s lacrosse team, and you may raise some unhappy eyebrows.

Coming off a record-setting season that ended in a heartbreaking, double-overtime loss to Ancient Eight rival Penn in the end-of-year Ivy League tournament, the squad (4-4, 1-1 Ivy) has set expectations for the now-sophomore core that shouldered much of the team’s load last season. With the help of the class of 2017 last season, it qualified for the Ivy League tournament for the first time in three years. With the past results, those expectations have never been higher for the 2015 campaign.

“[The sophomores] enjoy playing, practice is fun for them, [and] they want to get better every day,” Crimson coach Lisa Miller said. “They play with reckless abandon. But they bring a sense of light-heartedness to practice that is good for the group.”

This year, youth has ruled once again. Underclassmen dominate the roster, making up 16 of the 24 spots on a team that features only one senior. It has been that small cluster of sophomores, though, that contributed to much of the Harvard’s success last season and continue to be difference-makers this year.

Pacing that group has been standout attack Marisa Romeo, who entered Harvard last year ranked as the No. 7 recruit in the country by Inside Lacrosse.

Romeo’s freshman campaign featured a starting position in all 16 of the Crimson’s matches and a team and league-high 48 goals, including nine hat tricks, and four game-winning goals to lead the Ancient Eight.

The Syracuse, N.Y., native has picked up right where she left off last season, netting a team-high 23 goals already this season in only seven games. Tough competition hasn’t slowed Romeo down, with the sophomore tallying 12 goals in four games against opponents ranked in the top-13 in the nation.

The sophomore’s insatiable desire to constantly improve her play may be the secret to her success so early in her collegiate career.

“[Romeo] is just naturally a great dodger and scorer,” junior co-captain Tory Waldstein said. “But now she’s developing her cutting game and developed her feeding game, and I think that will help her continue to be successful.”

Junior co-captain Audrey Todd agreed with Waldstein, stating that one of Romeo’s most impressive attributes is her appetite for improvement.

“This year, she has also been working really hard on her feeding game,” Todd said. “It also hugely benefits our team because we have been looking to increase our assists.”

Assisting Romeo, both early this season and last season, has been midfielder Megan Hennessey.

The sophomore did it all for the Crimson last year, registering the second-most assists and draw controls and third-most goals and ground balls as a freshman.

The five-foot-four Winchester, Mass., native plays much bigger than her small stature would indicate. This year, Hennessey has already surpassed her assist total from last year, helping on 10 of the team’s 90 goals, the most of any Harvard player.