When the enormous depth of this team comes intofocus, the No. 5 preseason ranking Harvardreceived from Soccer Buzz magazine does notlook overly optimistic. Indeed, the moreconservative No. 19 spot the Crimson holds in theNational College Soccer Association of America(NCSAA)/Umbro poll seems a possible slight.

Harvard will have ample opportunity to justifyits billing, as the team faces a tough schedulethat includes three team faces a tough schedulethat includes three teams currently ranked in theNSCAA/Umbro poll as well as the traditionallystrong Ivy teams.

"We're really excited about how much talent wehave this year, but we're humbled by ourschedule," Stauffer said. "If we don't play ourhardest and exploit all of our strengths to theabsolute fullest, we may not win every game."

Any league loss could prove costly. Dartmouth,Penn and Yale all challenged for the Ivy Leaguecrown a year ago, and the Ivy race should be tightagain. It went down to the wire last season, asHarvard sealed the title by following its loneloss, 3-2 in overtime to Yale, with five straightvictories.

"We should improve and do better than lastyear, but I also think other teams who used tothink we weren't as good are kind of watching outfor us now," said a cautious Miller.

This season, with the NCAA Tournament expandedfrom 32 to 48 teams, the lvy League may well seemultiple entries into the tournament field.

Although its focus remains an Ancient Eighttitle, Harvard could still find itself playing inthe postseason even without a fourth straight lvyring. Once there, the sky is the limit.

"We not only have depth in ability but depth inattitude," Wheaton said. "When it comes to thoseneck-and-neck battles, that kind of team bondingand cohesiveness can really put you over the top."

"My expectations are unlimited for us,"Stauffer said. "I think we have so much talent;it's just a matter of what we make of it."WOMEN'S SOCCER

LAST SEASON

13-4-2, 6-1 Ivy, NCAA Quarterfinals

COACH

Tim Wheaton, 12th year

CAPTAINS

Devon Bingham; Emily Stauffer