You may not recognize the petite, smart, friendly soccer star as she moves from class to class on campus, but take notice this year. She wears the number eight on the field, and has the capability to do some damage for the Cardinals. a multi-dimensional player, Laura Kurash ’13 returns with the 2009 nesCaC rookie of the year honor and the second-team all-nesCaC choice from the 2009 season. These honors are impressive, especially in light of her ability to play only eight games in the season due to injury. Even with her absence

From the pitch, Kurash tallied 15 points during the season to lead the Cardinals in scoring with six goals and three assists.

Kurash was also busy last season breaking two all-time women’s soccer scoring records with her impeccable touch and field vision. With a dynamic performance in a 7-0 win against smith, Kurash broke the individual scoring record in one game with four goals and the record for the most points in a game by adding two assists to her four goals.

With this talent, the Cardinals hope to improve on their 8-6-1 winning season from last year. The Cardinals could not find a bet- ter player to lead the team into their opening

match-up against rival Williams this saturday.

“i’m really excited about the upcoming season,” she said. “although we lost some key seniors last year, we have a great group of strong veterans and talented new players that should make this our best season yet. Our lineup is full of speed and skill, which should make us a difficult team to beat. i also feel as though we have more depth at all of our positions than we had a year ago. That being said, the nesCaC is loaded with good teams, and every game is likely to be a hard- fought battle.”

an experienced roster supports Kurash, and the Cardinals are starting their tough schedule with expectations. The Cardinals have the added home field advantage with more than half of their games being played at Jackson Field this season. The team makes their first stance on their home field Saturday against their long-time Williamstown rival.