After playing a major role as a freshman, Cookson saw a dip in production her sophomore year. She returned as a junior to lead the Ivy League with 10 assists in 2017—a season that also saw Harvard take home the Ivy title with a perfect 7-0 conference record. The dramatic reversal of fortune for the team has shaped Cookson as a player.

“My freshman year, I was like, ‘I’ve got to dribble through everyone, and score goals!’” the midfielder says with a laugh. “It’s an important lesson that everyone learns in college field hockey—you literally cannot dribble through everyone. I used to be really hard on myself if I didn’t contribute to the game as much as I wanted to, and I think now I’m less focused on myself and more focused on the team.”

Adding the responsibility of captaincy to the already-full schedule of a student athlete seems a daunting prospect. But Cookson thinks that the team is close-knit and talented enough that she doesn’t feel the need to be a hands-on captain. Wellington agrees.

“Ellie is an incredible player in the sense that she really leads by example,” says Wellington. “I think she’s someone who draws the best out of every single person that she works with.”

Harvard suffered a major setback last week, when the team fell to rival Princeton. The Tigers now control their destiny and can clinch a league title by winning two more games. For Cookson, though, the last three games of the regular season offer a chance to put pressure on Princeton and perhaps take the Crimson to the NCAAs again.

“It’s sad realizing you only have three games left, but you only have three games left, so what’s there to lose?” Cookson says. “If you don’t leave everything on the field in these last three games, you’re going to regret it. For me, going into this, it’s just giving it everything for these last couple of games—for the team—to leave a good legacy.”

When it comes to legacies, the record book shows that Cookson has nothing to worry about.