The roar of the crowd, the body paint on fans, the event that is game day. This is the scene soccer players Therese Fox and Kristina Noll left behind.

In the first game of the season, transfers Fox and Noll each scored a goal, the team’s second and third this season, helping the Washington University women’s soccer team to win 3-1 over Birmingham Southern. The women’s soccer team has since remained undefeated, touting an impressive 7-0 record.

Unfortunately, Noll was injured in the first half of the first game of the season. Not realizing the severity of her injury, she played into the second half, when she scored a goal to make the score 3-1. Noll later learned she had torn her ACL, MCL and meniscus, injuries that are too serious for her to continue playing this season. However, she hopes to be back on the field for spring season.

Fox, a sophomore, has since recorded an assist and another goal and started every game for the Bears. She transferred to the University this fall after attending the United States Military Academy her freshman year. As a freshman, she started in 13 games and played in 15, with two goals and one assist. Noll, a junior, also started in 13 games and played in all 19 games during her 2005 season for Loyola University Chicago and recorded two assists.

As prominent players on their previous schools’ NCAA Division I teams, Fox and Noll notice the differences between Division I and Division III athletics. Both agree that the biggest difference between playing soccer at Division I schools and playing soccer at Wash. U. is the atmosphere at games. Fox explained that at Army, thousands of fans came to every game. The school even required students to participate in sports, and at some big games it was “mandatory for a certain number of students to come.”

While they miss the exciting game environment of their Division I teams, Fox and Noll notice differences between the attitudes and lifestyles of Wash. U. athletes and their previous schools’ athletes. At their first institutions, playing for the soccer team was much more time-consuming. Fox described her previous daily schedule as “soccer, homework, school.”

Noll added to this sentiment. “You could tell the attitude difference between the freshmen and senior [athletes],” said Noll, because Division I players would feel “burnt out” after being on the team for three years.

The players said that, in comparison, Wash. U. athletes on the whole seem much more passionate about playing the sport.

“Girls here in general care a lot more about the sport, which wasn’t necessarily the case for all the girls [playing at Division I schools],” said Fox.

“When [athletes] play a sport here, they really want to play it, whereas at other schools, they’re getting money to play,” added Noll. While game day is less intense at Wash. U., both girls love the attitude difference of the athletes here.

Important upcoming women’s soccer games are against last year’s national champion, Wheaton, and league rival Emory. Fox and Noll both cite “a lot of individual speed” and “team unity” as their team’s strengths, and the team will work on extending its seven-game winning streak as conference games start. As Fox continues to accumulate minutes and Noll continues to recover, the team will undoubtedly feel their impact.

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