After the 2006 season in which forward Tzlil Castel '08 started just two games and had no goals or assists, she led the women's soccer team with 10 goals in 2007, including both goals in the Judges' Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship victory as well as the lone goal in their ECAC semifinal win."I've always been a really hard worker," Castel said. "I think knowing it was my last season might have motivated me more and pushed me a lot more, but in general I love this sport, and this team is awesome, so it's easy to train for."

Castel, who finished the season with a total of 23 points, earned Most Valuable Player accolades in the squad's first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Championship win.

"I was surprised," Castel said of her MVP honors. "I definitely didn't expect it. I didn't even know that they [give out an MVP award] to begin with. I was just happy with the win."

Castel contributed to all three of the team's ECAC Tournament victories, collecting seven points on three goals and one assist. She opened the Tournament with an assist in the team's 3-0 quarterfinal victory over Emerson College before scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the semifinals. She continued her hot streak into the championship game against Keene State College, scoring two second-half goals to lead the Judges to a 2-0 victory.

"I think she just got better and better [throughout the season]," women's soccer coach Denise Dallamora said. "She was very motivating to her teammates, motivating to herself. She just really did the whole job for us."

Despite starting the first four games as a reserve, Castel contributed from day one, scoring the first goal in the season opener against MIT in a game the Judges eventually won 3-2. Castel earned a starting role just two weeks later in a 1-1 tie against Clark University.

"I think her ability to be in the right spot at the right time [is one of the reasons we made Castel a starter]," Dallamora said. "She certainly began to really have a nose for the goal. She was playing really hard-nosed defense, she was really tenacious in 50-50 balls. She just really wanted it and just really came to play hard."

Castel shone even in some of the most competitive games on the schedule. In a game against then-17th ranked Tufts University, she scored three goals in less than seven minutes, but the team ultimately lost 4-3. Later in the year against then-11th-ranked Emory University, she scored the team's only goal in a 2-1 loss.

"I'm one of those people who thrives under pressure," Castel said. "Usually it means that the game means more to you, and you stress a little bit more, and you realize the weight of the game."--