The taste of last October still lingers in the Jumbos' mouths. They still remember what it felt like.
After leading the Middlebury Panthers 3-0 with less than 15 minutes to play in the first round of last year's NESCAC playoffs, Tufts saw the Panthers score once, twice and then a third time in the closing minutes of regulation. Reeling from the drastic turning of the tides, Tufts then stood dumbfounded in defeat as the surging Panthers scored yet again just one minute into the overtime period, sending the Jumbos home for the season with a 4-3 loss on a blustery Halloween day in Vermont.
"I will never, ever forget that game; I'll never play another game without that in my heart," junior tri-captain Jon Glass said. "I can't even explain the hurt after that loss."
The fact that the Jumbos, seeded seventh going into post season play, were ahead of second ranked Middlebury by such a substantial margin late in the game had the makings of a classic Cinderella story. A Tufts victory would have stunned the NESCAC, especially considering the Jumbos have yet to tally a win against Middlebury this century.
"I would like to say that we have forgotten about last year," senior tri-captain Todd Gilbert said. "But [we have] nine returning starters who experienced that defeat. Revenge is pretty much the only thing on our minds right now."
The Jumbos will have their chance to avenge the heartbreak tomorrow at home at Kraft Field.
"We are going to sit back and use the emotion to just unleash it on them," Glass said.
The team expects playing at home to be a huge advantage, especially this early in the season against an opponent that, if tradition holds, will bring a large, athletic squad to compete.
"I expect the crowd to be pretty big and very vocal and intimidating," Gilbert said. "That will give us a huge advantage. It will be our first game [at Kraft Field] this season too."
The Jumbos kick off against the Panthers at 1:30 p.m.
-Kristy Cunningham
