Senior defender Rachel Brownwas excited about the potential of a very successful season, both individually as well as collectively for Tufts women's soccer. However, these dreams were cut short in August when theNESCAC announced the cancellation of the fall sports season.
“The cool thing about this team is, ever since my freshman year, we've just gotten better,” Brown said. “My freshman year, we made it to NCAAs and that was something that we hadn’t done for some years, so making it to that first round was a very cool experience. When we got out in the first round, we learned from it and built off of that foundation. So, we knew that we were just getting better, and we were really looking forward to our senior year where we believed that we could win it all.”
Her first year on the team, the Jumbos earned a NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 2007, finishing the season with a 10–6–3 record, their best record since 2010. Brown’s sophomore year, they made it to the NCAA tournament for the second season in a row and ended with a 11–6–2 record. Last year was, yet again, even more successful — the team boasted a 14–4–2 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA championships. Brown’s junior season was cut short due to an injury just six games into the year.
“I didn't have too big of a playing role my freshman and sophomore year, so I was excited for my junior year when positions opened up on the back line when girls graduated — this was the year I was going to have a bigger impact on the field,” Brown said. “It was six games into the season, against [Colby College], and unfortunately, I tore my ACL in the last 10 minutes of the game. That was very upsetting and a tough time because then it was this year long process that any soccer player just dreads to go through … so that whole year though was rebuilding for my senior year.”
After putting the time and energy into her recovery, Brown was excited to be back and able to finish off her college career on the field as a senior.
“I was like, ‘What if I'm gonna have my best soccer year at Tufts and it's gonna be my senior year — we're going to go out with a bang,’” Brown said. “So then to find out, due to this global pandemic, that I will not have my senior year was a very hard pill to swallow. It was the sole thing that kept me motivated during this past year and the obstacles that come along with recovering from an ACL. It’s a hard journey, but it was definitely the most rewarding, so I'm more grateful than ever to be 100% and back at practice and playing soccer again. But it was definitely a huge disappointment to not be able to compete and have that larger role on the field that I was really excited for my senior year.”
Her teammates credit Brown for leading by example and for her committed and continued passion for the team.
“Rachel leads in her energy. No matter the drill, she gives it her all. Nobody can match her dance moves on game day. She stepped up as the team impact leader when Alessandra Sadler graduated,” junior back Tookie Wilson said. “I think she will leave an incredible legacy for her unparalleled spirit and tempo.”
As Tufts is one of the few schools in the NESCAC to allow all students back on campus in some capacity this fall, the sports teams are still able to hold small team training sessions.
“Coach Whiting definitely set the tone at our first team practice by saying we are so fortunate to just be together right now,” Brown said.
All of Tufts’ coaches have needed to adjust their respective teams’ training due to restrictions put in place by the school to promote social distancing and safety. However, due to the continued compliance of teams and coaches with these restrictions throughout the fall, Tufts has been able to grant teams permission to play contact sports.
“Being able to see each other at a socially safe distance at practice, to be able to have that in person contact was huge,” Brown said. “Then, this past week we've been able to switch over to contact and being able to actually play soccer in a smart way has been a game changer and something that has kept us competitive and unified during these unprecedented times.”
Ever since students were sent home in March and classes were moved online, the women's soccer team has come up with many different ways to stay connected. In addition to team Zoom calls, which helped head coach Martha Whiting keep her team members updated on the status of their season and allowed the players to check in with each other, the team started a blog.
“It was important to stay connected and motivated during these uncertain times,” Brown said. “Something unique that we did to stay connected was that we had a team blog, and every team member as well as coach [Whiting] wrote blogs. You could write anything you want; it was mainly just to give an update about what you were up to during quarantine, crack some jokes, give some updates, keep it lighthearted. It was a fun thing to look forward to each week and see how everyone is doing.”
Brown, along with other senior fall athletes, is taking the option of an extra year of eligibility into consideration while planning her future.
“My goal is to land a job in consulting or something in medical devices, pharmaceutical worlds and if that happens, then I will unfortunately hang up the cleats and start my professional career,” Brown said. “But, if I don't land a job then I'm going to be back. So, there's really no losing situation and whatever happens is going to happen.”
No matter what she ends up doing next year, Brown credits her teammates as being an impactful part of her college experience, both on and off the field.
“Hands down, [my] favorite part of being on [the women’s soccer team] is the girls that I've met and the memories that we've made,” Brown said. “We've had some incredible wins and being able to celebrate it with the best teammates I could ever ask for, it makes it just that much better. These are going to be girls that are going to be stuck with me for life. The best part is just everything that comes along with these friendships on and off the field — in the locker room, on the bus rides, dancing and being a part of those moments. All the ups and downs, but everything revolves around the girls and just being a part of something greater than just women's soccer.”
