Last fall, the season came to an early end for the men's soccer team.
The Jumbos fought the NESCAC's second-seeded Amherst Lord Jeffs to a 3-3 tie in the first round of the conference tournament, but ultimately, they went home early, losing the penalty kick round 3-2.
And ten months later, the team still hasn't forgotten that game.
With eight seniors on the roster this season, the Jumbos are a seasoned, experienced bunch, and they hope to channel that experience into postseason success this October.
"Our goal is to finish in the top four in the league in the regular season in order to play our first home playoff game," senior tri-captain Greg O'Connell said.
After a disastrous start to 2006, in which the team was winless in its first five games, the Jumbos are focusing on winning games early in the season so they won't be forced to win seven of their final nine like last year.
Along with fellow senior tri-captains Alex Bedig and Andrew Drucker, O'Connell organized a training camp from Aug. 20 to Aug. 26. The team worked out twice a day, and the captains stressed the importance of getting on a roll early in the season.
"We have to realize that this is a short season, and we need to build momentum by getting results right away," O'Connell said.
"Our challenge this year is to stay focused when playing teams we're expected to beat and keep our intensity up," added senior Alex Botwinick, who patrols the Jumbo midfield alongside O'Connell.
Tufts will open its season Saturday on the road against a Colby team that has never qualified for the NESCAC Tournament since its inception in 2000. Still, the Jumbos will not take the Mules lightly.
"They're kind of like us," O'Connell said of the Mules. "Maybe not considered top tier, but they're right there. Every game is tough in this league."
"There are some games [this year that] we need to win,"
senior forward Dan Jozwiak added. "This is one of them."
No doubt the Jumbos have their eyes on Sept. 22, as another must-win game awaits - their first rematch with the Lord Jeffs. After Amherst, Tufts faces several more daunting opponents further down the NESCAC schedule, including Bowdoin, Wesleyan and the always-feared Williams Ephs. Still, the Jumbos believe they can hold their own against the league's competition.
"We may not be considered one of the NESCAC heavyweights like Williams or Wesleyan," O'Connell said. "But we're no cakewalk either."
Tufts will play Bates on homecoming Saturday, Sept. 29, in a rematch of a game that turned the Jumbos' season around last year. And then later in the season come the Ephs, who have won five of the past six NESCAC championships.
If the Jumbos are going to make a surprise run, they'll have to overcome the loss of their leading scorer from last year, forward Mattia Chason. Still, the team returns Jozwiak and Botwinick, two of the NESCAC's top ten scorers from last season, in addition to senior midfielder Bob Kastoff. The team expects its versatility on offense to be one of its strengths.
"This group is as technically skilled as any team since I've been here," Jozwiak said.
While the Jumbos' offense will be strong, they aren't taking the conventional approach - a midfielder-by-committee system will keep opposing defenses off balance.
"We lack a true striker, so it allows Coach [Ralph] Ferrigno to mix and match midfielders up front," Botwinick said.
In addition, promising sophomores Bear Duker, second on the team in assists last season, and goalkeeper Pat Tonelli now have a year of experience under their belts and are expected to continue on a similar pace to last season.
As tough as the loss to Amherst was last year, the Jumbos hope it was a turning point, and not a setback. Certainly, the eight seniors have not easily forgotten the sting of that defeat.
"We have a lot of senior leadership [that has] gone through some tough lows but also won some big games," Botwinick said. "We're hungry."
