In 2005, the women's soccer team vaulted itself to the top of the league with a 10-game midseason winning streak, only to suffer a double-overtime loss in the NESCAC semifinals to Bates.
But the NCAA selection committee granted the team a second life, and it didn't squander the opportunity winning four consecutive games to stamp itself a ticket to the Final Four.
Two seasons later, the Jumbos find themselves in a similar situation. Although the squad suffered a semifinal penalty-kick loss to No. 4 seeded-Bowdoin Saturday, it was yet again granted a second chance when the selection committee granted Tufts - in addition to Bowdoin and New England-rival Springfield - one of 18 at-large bids out of a field of 60 on Sunday evening.
And just like in 2005, Tufts intends to take full advantage of the opportunity.
"We're really ecstatic about it," senior Joelle Emery said. "We saw the season slip away from us and we were given a second chance. We're going to do the best we can to continue the season and use the chance we've been given."
While the shuffling of players makes it difficult to draw comparisons from year-to-year - just seven players on the current roster played on the 2005 squad - the parallels between the two teams cannot be overlooked, as both teams secured at-large bids with the same 12-3-1 record.
"We've been kind of been making comparisons throughout the whole season," senior co-captain Martha Furtek said. "In 2005, Ariel Samuelson was the big goal-scorer and [sophomore Cara Cadigan] is that person this year. And going into the NCAA weekend this team has the same record."
Although the Jumbos failed to take the easier automatic pass to NCAAs, their chances of making the tournament seemed fairly likely when Williams, Wheaton and Western Conn. - the teams ranked first, second and fourth in the Div. III New England standings - all won their respective conference tournaments, putting them in the pool of automatic qualifiers and leaving room for No. 3 Tufts to grab the at-large bid.
And as disappointing as the penalty-kick loss to Bowdoin was, the fact that it went into the books as a tie rather than a loss ultimately gave Tufts a better record than Bowdoin when it was all said and done.
In the end, the selection committee was generous to the New England region, as evidenced by the at-large bids granted to the Jumbos, Polar Bears and Springfield Pride.
"That was actually very surprising that they gave bids to three teams from New England," Emery said. "It's very rare and really speaks to the strength of our conference."
The bracket pits Tufts in a field of three other regional teams for the first two rounds, slating the Jumbos for a matchup with Emmanuel following a game between Hamilton and Moravian in Clinton, N.Y. this weekend.
Although all three teams are from the Northeast, they are all virtually unknown quantities to Tufts, as among the three, their schedules have only Babson in common, a team that lost 4-1 to Tufts on Sept. 25 but beat Emmanuel 2-1 Sept. 13.
"We haven't played any of the teams and we don't really have any common opponents, so it's hard to know what to expect," junior Maya Shoham said. But if we do come out of this weekend, we play Williams, and we're really raring for a chance to play them again."
On Saturday, it seemed that Tufts wouldn't have a chance for a rematch of Oct. 20's 2-0 loss to Williams. But with the Ephs securing the top bid in the Jumbos' bracket, two straight wins for the Jumbos would give them another shot at Williams, provided the Ephs win their second-round game.
If Tufts' past tournament history is any indication, the Jumbos should prepare themselves for that rematch.
Since the NESCAC started tournament play in 2000, Tufts has secured two at-large invitations to the tournament and has been more than successful, reaching the national semifinals in 2005 and making its way to the championship game of the 2000 tournament, only to lose to The College of New Jersey by one goal. This year, the Jumbos are primed to make another run.
"Everyone's ultimate goal is a national championship," Emery said. "It's what we dream about - what we play for. But we have to win four games, which seems like a big feat ... Either way, I'm not sure you can be disappointed with a season that ends in the NCAAs."
