Washington, DC (U-WIRE) -- Nicole DePalma (COL '05) always puts her left side on first - her left sock, her left shin guard, tape on her left foot and, finally, her left cleat. But as Georgetown's all-time leading assister, she must be doing something right.

DePalma, a senior midfielder for the women's soccer team, has been an example of exc

ellence for the Hoyas during her collegiate career.

"You always know at the end of every game that Nicole has given you everything, and at the end of every practice," women's soccer Head Coach Dave Nolan says.

Following her 2003-04 season as the team's most valuable player, DePalma was a team captain this year, and her character shined through more than ever.

"She really took the team on her shoulders," Nolan says. "She's a quiet girl - she leads very much by example. The players respect her so much. Because of that, when she did speak, everybody listened."

Even with her leadership role and heap of accolades and records, DePalma remains modest. "I always wanted to just do my best," she says. "I wanted to make a difference on the field and have a really big presence."

And that she did.

After a disappointing 2003-04 season in which the Hoyas finished 7-11-1, the soccer team wanted to turn things around this year, but it would be no easy task.

"Nicole didn't want her senior year to go the way her previous season did," Nolan says.

The bulk of this year's Big East schedule was especially hard for the Hoyas, with the team going 0-4-1 over a five-game stretch. But, Nolan says, "She and the other two seniors knew they were playing well, the results just weren't going the right way."

That's when DePalma really stepped up.

With her leading the way, Georgetown reeled off a four-game win streak to cap off the season, improving its record from 5-8-1 to 9-8-1. The Hoyas went from potentially being out of the conference tournament to earning a No. 5 seed. DePalma scored five goals over the quartet of games and earned Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors.

"The better players always show up in the bigger games," Nolan says. "She scores the goals when the games are important."

DePalma put up six game-winning assists as a sophomore, coming up big when games were on the line. But DePalma doesn't always wait until the end to make a statement, like in a late-season game against Pittsburgh this year. Georgetown had already qualified for the Big East tournament, and the team was playing on the road on a rainy, miserable night. The Hoyas didn't have anything to lose, but if they won, they would be seeded fifth, Georgetown's best seeding ever. DePalma got on the field and scored two early goals - one at 4:37, the other at 18:13 - and the Hoyas went on to win 4-0.

"Previous players would have been like, 'We're already in the tournament,'" Nolan says. "She wanted to raise the bar even higher. She carried the team on her back."

Making the tournament was a memorable moment for DePalma, especially the opening game against Boston College. Though the Hoyas fell 1-0 to the No. 22 Eagles, it was an intense, hard-fought game in which DePalma felt the team played really well.

Even in losses, DePalma earns respect, since "on and off the field, she doesn't point fingers," Nolan says. "She's never given us an ounce of worry."

Her athletic ability has never given the team an ounce of worry, either. The midfielder can do anything: defend, score and assist. "She works both sides of the ball really well," Nolan says. "She's a great athlete. She has a great engine - she can run forever. When you play her defensively, because she can cover so much ground, she can break up the other team."

DePalma is an offensive threat, too, as she led the Hoyas in points this season with 22 on nine goals and four assists. "She had a great instinct for getting balls in the box," Nolan says.

Though she is flexible enough to play nearly every position, DePalma's favorite place to play is center midfield. "You can see the whole field," she says. "You kind of control the game."

She's made an impression in the Georgetown record books, as well. Her 22 career assists, including the 13 from her sophomore season, are tops in the program's history. In one 2002 game against Howard, DePalma made five assists, one short of an NCAA Division I record. Her 0.72 assists per game that year put her at No. 6 in the nation while she led the Big East.

Even though she describes herself as "more of an assister than a goal-scorer," DePalma ranks second in career points with 64. All time, she is second in single-season goals with nine, and her career total of 22 points is the third-highest over one season.

DePalma was named to the All-Big East second team twice, for her senior and sophomore season, and she was nominated to the rookie team her freshman year.

But the friendships that DePalma has made are just as important to her as her personal accomplishments. "I love my teammates," she says. "We all get along. We're really close."

Her coach has a special connection with her, too.

"She is a coach's dream," Nolan says. "I wish we could clone her, but we couldn't really do that." Yet.

(C) 2004 The Hoya via U-WIRE