After sweeping a weekend series against Middlebury and Carthage last weekend, the women's soccer team earned a place in the NSCAA national rankings for the first time this season, drawing the No. 19 spot in the poll released Tuesday.
Now the Jumbos have a chance to prove they belong.
Tufts will host perennial NESCAC heavyweight Amherst in an 11 a.m. matchup on Kraft Field tomorrow, looking to start the season 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2001.
"Winning those games early definitely does give you the confidence and the belief that you are good and that you can beat the teams that are at the top of New England," coach Martha Whiting said.
The Lord Jeffs, who in 2006 advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, will give the Jumbos a formidable test in their first game this season as a nationally-ranked team. Last year, Amherst was unbeaten in NESCAC play, and with a win over Bates on Sept. 15, the Jeffs made it 13 consecutive regular-season conference games without a loss. Amherst also boasts a stingy defense, having posted the lowest goals-against average in the NESCAC in each of the past three seasons.
But if recent years are any indication, Tufts seems to have Amherst's number, particularly in the regular season. In 2006, the Jumbos put the only blemish on the Jeffs' otherwise-perfect conference record, playing Amherst to a 2-2 tie. Since Martha Whiting took over as Tufts' coach in 1999, the Jumbos have gone 4-2-2 against the Jeffs in the regular season, with their last loss coming in 2001.
This year, the Jeffs have stumbled out of the gate, giving the Jumbos a chance to capitalize on their slow start. Ranked seventh in the national preseason poll, the Jeffs have fallen out of the top 25 after faltering against a tough early-season schedule that included No. 16 Johns Hopkins and No. 2 The College of New Jersey.
At just 1-2-2 on the season, Amherst is still adjusting to the losses of All-American goalkeeper Piper Cromwell and 2006 NESCAC Player of the Year Amy Armstrong to graduation. But despite the Jeffs' slide, the Jumbos won't take their opponent lightly, knowing that they're up against a well-tuned team.
"They haven't been playing very many NESCAC teams this season," senior co-captain Martha Furtek said. "They've been testing themselves and going up against some good competition, so they'll definitely be ready for us."
Tufts, meanwhile, enters tomorrow riding the momentum of last weekend's wins over Middlebury and Carthage. On Saturday, the Jumbos put together an impressive come-from-behind effort against the Panthers, who had been ranked No. 8 in the NSCAA national poll and won in double overtime. Less than 24 hours later, undoubtedly weary from the 107 minutes of soccer it had played the day before, the team defeated the previously-unbeaten Lady Red 2-0, upping its season mark to 3-1.
Furtek, who had missed Tufts' first two games of the year with a lower right ankle sprain, returned to the lineup last weekend and made her presence felt immediately, assisting on both Jumbo goals in the team's win over Carthage. Tufts' second-leading scorer from 2006, Furtek has not yet fully recovered from her injury but was glad to contribute to the team's efforts.
"I'm definitely not at 100 percent," she said. "I was happy to get out there and get a chance this weekend. I still feel like [the ankle] is holding me back a little bit, but it's been getting better and better every day."
The weekend also saw the emergence of sophomore Cara Cadigan as an offensive force in the Jumbos' midfield. Cadigan, who missed the entire 2006 campaign with an ACL injury she suffered in the spring of her senior year of high school, scored three goals in the two games, including the game-winner against Middlebury in the second overtime, to earn NESCAC Player of the Week honors. Cadigan has tallied four of Tufts' six goals on the year and leads the conference with nine points.
"A lot of it has been her work ethic," Whiting said. "And she's a good soccer player. I think in some ways it's like riding a bike. For her, once she got back into it, it just came back to her, and she was able to jump back into the level she was at. She may even be at a higher level."
A victory tomorrow would only add to the Jumbos' strong start and solidify their hold on the top of the NESCAC. Though it is still early in the season, the team knows the importance of putting together a strong performance tomorrow.
"Any win you can get in-conference is awesome, because our conference is so strong," Whiting said. "To get the wins earlier in the year, it definitely gives you that confidence because when you lose a couple, then the pressure's on to start winning those games later on."
