From Sept. 15 to Oct. 9, the women's soccer team rattled off eight straight wins on its way to the top of the NESCAC, priming itself for a postseason run.
Now, two weeks later, the Jumbos have lost two of three and will be fighting with Amherst for the second-place slot heading into their final game of the regular season against Conn. College tomorrow.
At 6-2 in the division, Tufts is currently tied for second place with Amherst (5-1-2) and is guaranteed home field advantage in the first round of the tournament. And after dropping their last two conference games to Trinity and Williams, the Jumbos are looking to show the rest of the conference that they are a serious contender.
"We have something to prove," senior defenseman Joelle Emery said. "We need to show other teams in the NESCAC that we are a quality team and we had a long win streak for a reason."
Thanks to their 1-0 victory against the Lord Jeffs on Sept. 22, the Jumbos can lock up the second seed if they win Saturday or if both teams lose. But if the Jeffs win and the Jumbos lose, Amherst will head into the playoffs a notch ahead of Tufts.
The difference between a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed seems negligible, but it is the difference between playing Wesleyan or Conn. College, both 2-5-1, and playing a 4-3-1 Trinity team that beat Tufts two weeks ago.
While the recent pair of losses means the Jumbos do not have the same type of momentum as they did heading into the Trinity game, the team can be confident that neither was a result of poor play on Tufts' part.
"Our record has not reflected this, but we worked really hard these past two weeks," senior co-captain Martha Furtek said. "We just came out flat in a couple of the games, and we were having trouble finishing the ball. It's frustrating to have lost two of the last three, but we know we can get it done."
Losing 1-0 to Trinity may have been the biggest disappointment of the season for Tufts, as it outshot its opponents 18 to two but was still unable to get the ball in the net.
"In the beginning of the season, we were able to squeak out a couple, but we were just not able to squeak out the win," Emery said.
Although the unbeaten Ephs emerged with a 2-0 win Saturday over Tufts, the team is not going to write off a possible NESCAC showdown in the later rounds of the tournament. If the Jumbos do get another chance to square off against Williams, they will be prepared.
"We need to make sure we mark up all over the field," Emery said. "We didn't mark up as tightly, and that's how Williams scored goals."
"We need to finish our opportunities and take advantage of chances up front," Furtek said. "In the midfield, we need to do a better job of getting back and marking and transitioning together. Williams moved the ball really well and just caught us out of position a few times."
Despite the recent troubles, Tufts has had an impressive regular season. The team has compiled a 10-3 overall record and will certainly be one of the teams to beat in this year's tournament.
"I think we have definitely grown more comfortable with each other," Emery said. "Offensively, we are getting a lot of quality shots, we are transitioning well through the midfield, and we understand and cover for each other on defense."
While the Jumbos are certainly looking forward to the start of playoff season Sunday, they are careful not to get ahead of themselves.
"We are trying not to look too far ahead and take it one game at a time," Emery said.
