Mark Krikorian, who led Franklin Pierce to two straight NCAA Division II titles, is in his second year at Division I Hartford. The Hawks plummeted to a 4-14-0 record in 1996, but they opened with a 3-2 win over UConn. SOCCER AMERICA: What was behind the drastic change, from a team that was so bad to one that beat UConn? MARK KRIKORIAN: It’s definitely the infusion of [13] new players combined with the high work rate of the returning players, though we don’t have a lot of returning players. SA: Did you know your first season at Hartford would be as difficult as it was? MK: When I first got here last year, I never expected I had to recruit to the capacity that I did. But after a lot of evaluating, we realized that to compete at the national level we had to make some significant changes. We had to do some significant recruiting. SA: If you had set up last year’s schedule, which featured five tournament teams, would it have been as tough? MK: Of course, not. We couldn’t compete with Santa Clara [7-0 loss], with Maryland [3-0 loss]. They were very gracious winners. They kept the games very respectable when the could have gotten out of hand. SA: In what area of the field did you improve the most? MK: Truthfully, we’re really a whole new team. We started this [season] with eight new starters. And the returning starters are playing in different positions from last year. SA: Who is the best of the newcomers? MK: Stine Bohle, who has made an immediate impact. She scored three of our first four goals coming out of a midfield position. She’s played for the [Norway] under-20 [national] team. She’s played in the Nordic Cup. SA: How good will Hartford be this year? Will you make the NCAA tournament? MK: It is a bit premature to judge that. With the new players we have, we’ve come together in a more positive fashion. We’re going to continue to get better and better. We’re working out the kinks in a new style of play, similar to Franklin Pierce รน a ball-possession style of game. by Soccer America Associate Editor Dean Caparaz