After its second straight appearance in the semifinals of the East Coast Athletic Conference tournament, the women's soccer team must replace four mainstays from last year's squad. Two-time all University Athletic Association forward Lisa Kaplin '07 heads the list of departures, which also includes defenders Melissa Gordon '07, Brittany Douglass '07 and Christie Fulton '07. The quartet started all 19 of the team's games last season.

This year's team is paced by seven seniors, including forward Sarah Jasak '08 and midfielders Lizzie Bremner '08 and Amy King '08.

Jasak finished second on the team in points last season behind Kaplan, and Bremner is a two-year starter at center midfield.

They will be aided by midfielder Melissa Gorenkoff '10 and defenders Abby Shields '10 and Kalina Ehrenreich-Piot '08.

Gorenkoff finished third on the team with 11 points in her rookie season, including a game-winning goal in last season's 3-2 overtime victory over Rhode Island College in the first round of the ECAC tournament.

"I think Melissa Gorenkoff is going to do huge things for us this year," coach Denise Dallamora said. "She's got her freshman year under her belt.

Shields immediately emerged as one of the team's top defenders last season, and Ehrenreich-Piot will get the first crack at replacing Fulton, an all-UAA performer last season.

The goalie position also remains stable. Captain Betsy Medow '08 returns after recording two shutouts in her 11 games, and Hillary Rosenzweig '10, who began last season as the starter before suffering a season-ending knee injury, also returns to provide depth.

Dallamora brought in 14 rookies to help complement the veterans, including forward Tiffany Pacheco '11, who scored more than 100 goals during her high school career, defender Liza Fletcher '11 and transfer Lindsay Deslauriers '09.

The Judges' 2007 schedule includes games against all seven UAA teams, as well as a rematch with Smith College, who knocked out the Judges in last season's ECAC semifinals September 26.

"I'm really excited for the season coming up," King said. "We should be competitive within New England and within our conference this year."

The squad hosts the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in their season opener Sept. 1 at 2 p.m.