The defense is going to have to rally around keeper Tim Shea (9.02 gaa, .657 save percentage) to stay competitive.

With only four returning defenders, all under classmen, there could be big trouble in little Ithaca.

5. Yale

The Elis' fall from grace will probably continue this year.

With the remnants of the Bulldogs' 1990 NCAA semi-final team (including star attacker Kim Dunn) gone, the future looks bleak for the Eli.

Leading scoring threat sophomore Eric Zelko (29-9-38) hung up his stick in the off-season, so the only glimmer of hope is goalie Rich Dressler (.623 save percentage) who may get more action this year than he bargained for.

6. Pennsylvania

The Quakers entire defense returns this spring, but the team still lacks depth on the attack and in the midfield. In this tough conference, weakness bodes big losses. Last year, opposing defenses keyed on Ivy League Player of the Year Chris Conforti. Conforti is gone and so are Penn's fortunes this season.

6. Dartmouth

No one envies the Big Green. Sure, sophomore Brendan Bowler will continue to slice through opposing defenses.

But they have a head of steam churning to-wards the league cellar this year.