Athlete of the Week:
Jill Rubinstein

Indeed, the team and its success seem to be Rubinstein's number one priority despite her significant individual achievements. After what she called "a few disappointing losses early in the season," Rubinstein and the entire team are now playing a "smarter brand of soccer" which has propelled them to third place in the Ivies, behind likely NCAA tournament participants Harvard and Dartmouth. She is "very, very excited" about Yale's improved team play and its likely berth into the ECAC postseason tournament.

Life has not always been so rosy for the Bulldogs' offensive star. Before her senior year in high school, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), an injury which threatens to end even the most talented athlete's career. Forced to sit out her last season of high school soccer as a result, Rubinstein fought back and, despite her year-long layoff and return to soccer only two months before coming to Yale, she was in the Bulldogs' starting line-up for their first game of her freshman season.

The remarkable work ethic which allowed Rubinstein to come back from her injury does not go unnoticed by her teammates. Andrea Wenner, JE '00, said of Rubinstein, "She's awesome...she works her butt off in practice." By her own admission, Rubinstein says soccer practice is "the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning" to go to class on days when midterms and fatigue weigh her down. A multi-talented athlete, this architecture major is also a member of Yale's indoor and outdoor track teams, competing in the heptathalon.

Rubinstein honed her soccer skills in Bolivia last summer where she tasted the international soccer scene, and apparently liked what she encountered. With one year of eligibility still left after this season, Rubinstein talks about turning professional once her Yale playing days are done, perhaps playing in Japan, where a successful women's league now operates. She is also excited about Yale's prospects for next season and optimistic about this year's "great freshman class." Rubinstein, however, remains focused on this season and the ECAC tournament, saying she is "looking forward [to this week's Cornell game] because I've never beaten them while I've been at Yale." Indeed, confidence is just another part of Rubinstein's already top-notch game.

--Alexander Slater