The Justice

Media Credit: David Sheppard-Brick Rookie forward Izabella Miranda '12 keeps her eye on the ball during an Eastern College Athletic Conference semifinal game last Saturday.

Sitting upright on her dorm-room bed, women's soccer forward Izabella Miranda '12 laughed as she recalled the first touch of her college soccer career over two months earlier.

The moment occurred during the women's soccer team's Aug. 30 season opener against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of Miranda's teammates passed her the ball, but the ball went off her foot and trickled to an MIT player.

"It was the first time I touched the ball, so I was nervous," Miranda recalled during an interview Nov. 10.

But it didn't take Miranda long to get over those nerves. She notched her first career assist and goal in that same game and went on to finish fourth on the team in scoring with 12 points. Looking back, Miranda wished she did more to realize the significance of that first goal.

"I didn't celebrate for some reason," she said. "I kind of regret not celebrating it. But I was just so happy I didn't really know what to do."

Miranda was one of 16 rookies on the women's soccer team's roster who played in at least one game this season. Besides having to adjust to the newfound freedom of college life, this large class of first-years has also made adjustments on the soccer field that have contributed to the squad's second-straight Eastern College Athletic Conference postseason tournament championship.

Miranda did not start any games this season, but she scored four goals on just 19 shots despite only playing in 18 games. But she was not the only rookie to make a major contribution to the team. Defender Francesca Shin '12 and midfielders Kaitlin Oldfield '12, Mimi Theodore '12 and Alanna Torre '12 played in every game, and defender Allison Maresca '12 started in all 18 of her appearances.

"They're all doing a great job," said coach Denise Dallamora when asked last month about the group's impact on the team. "They're playing well; … a lot of the freshmen have been scoring goals."

Oldfield in particular was a key player during Brandeis' ECAC tournament run. She had five points in the three ECAC tournament games, scoring goals in both the first-round victory over St. Joseph's (Conn.) College and the second-round win over Emmanuel College.

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