Then you talk to Berkery herself, and you wonder what the big deal was.
An American History concentrator, Berkery says that sports have been an important part of her life at Harvard, but not all of it.
"[Playing lacrosse] hasn't really been that different from doing any other activity, I think, except that I focus on it a lot, just like [someone else] might focus on the Crimson or something."
Asked what she'd like to do after graduation, she laughs again and says, "I'm looking in a lot of different directions. Maybe marketing, or teaching, or even business."
For now, though, she remains Liz Berkery, lacrosse star. She is expected to carry much of the Crimson's scoring load this season, and she will provide leadership to a team intent on reclaiming old glory.
Characteristically, Berkery seems excited.
"We have a very hard-working team this year with lots of potential," she says. "There's a good combination of experience and youth. Our ultimate goal is definitely to get back to the NCAA finals."
Can all these expectations, all these accolades, really fall on one person's shoulders?
Kleinfelder hopes they don't have to. "I don't want the other players to become dependent on her. Obviously, she's one of our main players, and she will do what she can. But we can't expect her to do everything."
If the Crimson is in a really, really tight bind, though--like, say, in the NCAA finals--it'll be okay to depend on her, right? Just a tiny bit?
Of course. It's Liz Berkery we're talking about here, remember?