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.

Members of the 16-person group had different experiences prior to attending Brandeis. They had to adjust to a college game that Dallamora called during an interview last September "more physical" and "a little faster" than soccer in high school.

Miranda said during an interview last September that the club team she played on throughout her high school career did a lot to prepare her for the challenges of the college game.

"With my club team, it was pretty much like college," Miranda said. "We played very quick, and the girls were also pretty big."

Miranda added, however, that her high school experience did not prepare her for everything.

"But in high school you didn't really have the technical players," she said. "[In college] you can't really take your time with the ball; you have to move really fast."

Like Miranda, Torre scored a goal in her first college game against MIT.

"I was so excited, and it got me pumped and confident after," Torre said during an interview last September.

But Torre had to deal with a unique challenge. She came from a high school in Florida where she played on a grass field, but Gordon Field, where the Judges play home games, has artificial turf instead of natural grass. Torre had to learn to play on turf for the first time.

"[The turf's] much quicker," Torre said during an interview at the beginning of the season. "If it's hot, it burns your feet, actually. I just had to get used to cleaning up my first touch."

Torre said that once she got over the field surface, she became more comfortable with the college game.

"I was really nervous at the beginning because I was starting, and I was playing in college, and it was very overwhelming," Torre said. "But it's been getting easier, I haven't been as nervous, and I'm just getting more comfortable with it."

Tiffany Pacheco '11 understands some of the rookie group's anxieties. Last year, the forward was a rookie like they are, but as a sophomore this season, she has become a veteran willing to help this year's rookie class.

"Last year, it was tough trying to balance schoolwork and soccer," Pacheco recalled during an interview last September. "On the field itself, it was hard because I've never played with anyone here, and it's getting used to how people play and the different styles that people have, . but once I got that down I think things have been going smoothly."

As the rookies have become acclimated to college soccer, they have had several key moments. One of Theodore's three goals this season gave the Judges a 1-0 University Athletic Association victory over the University of Chicago. Prior to her breakout ECAC tournament, Oldfield also made a key play to give the team a victory when she assisted on Pacheco's game-winning goal against Gordon College Sept. 3.

By the end of the season, rookies occupied the third, fourth, fifth and sixth spots on the team's points leaderboard. Oldfield was third on the squad with 14 points, followed by Miranda with 12, Torre with 10 and Theodore with eight.

Overall, Miranda said at the end of the regular season that she enjoyed the experience, especially the camaraderie with her teammates.

"It was a good team. We all got along really well," she said. "Thankfully there were no fights or anything.