In the past, the closest Tufts students had gotten to the Final Four of an NCAA Tournament was watching the Cincinnati Bearcats practice in Cousens Gymnasium. Until now. An announcement from the NCAA Sunday night revealed that the women's soccer team will continue its magical season on its home turf, as the Jumbos play host to the NCAA Final Four this weekend. Tufts, now 17-3-1, advanced to the national semifinals after a 1-0 win at home against William Smith on Saturday.
"We have had great teams that have accomplished great things in the past," Athletic Director Bill Gehling said. "This is the first Final Four that any of these team sports have achieved."
"We haven't been able to host anything like this in the past," coach Martha Whiting said. "And who knows when something like this is going to happen again. It's going to bring a lot of people to Tufts who have never even heard of it. I think it's just going to be a really fun weekend."
With teams from Wisconsin, Texas, and New Jersey heading to Medford for the championship weekend, the onus is on the Tufts community to show support for its most successful team.
"I was a little disappointed in the number of people at the quarterfinal game," Gehling said. "I would hope that it was because of the weather. We are spreading the word of this game through every means possible."
A large, cheering crowd at the game will be an advantage for the Jumbos, but simply playing on Kraft Field has seemed to be enough for the team, which is undefeated at home. With the 1-0 win on Saturday, Tufts stretched its home record to 10-0 on the season.
"I think it will be a huge advantage," Whiting said. "Having had to go away for two weekends to Middlebury, we saw how its crowd really played a huge role in the game. By having it here, it doesn't take the players out of their environment, they don't have to miss classes, they can sleep in their own beds, and follow their own routine."
The women have been making history all season, so this weekend is no surprise. Not only has this team set new standards for its overall record and total wins, but its goalie, senior tri-captain Randee McArdle, continues to add to her record 23 shutouts in her career. And now, the soccer team has advanced further than any varsity team in Tufts' history.
Throughout the past few seasons, the soccer team has enjoyed its share of postseason success. Two seasons ago, the Jumbos captured the NCAA New England Championship before falling in the NCAA quarterfinals to Ithaca. They opened the following season ranked first in the region. In 1996, Tufts won the ECAC New England Championship. In the 21 years since the program's inauguration, the team has posted 20 winning seasons and earned 18 postseason births.
This year's team bested them all. Not only did the team display excellence on the field, but off it as well.
"Two years ago, the women's soccer team had the seventh highest GPA in the country," Gehling said. "This year's team has a similar mark. It shows that you can accomplish great things athletically without sacrificing academics. This team is what Tufts is all about. They aspire to excel in all aspects of life."
The team is led on the field by its senior tri-captains McArdle, midfielder Sara Yeatman, and defender Carmen Mikacenic. Yeatman, an All-American candidate, is second on the team with 25 points, and has a team-best 11 goals. The points leader is junior striker Lynn Cooper, who has ten goals and six assists on the year, good for 26 points. Other large offensive contributors are NESCAC Rookie of the Year Jess Trombley, who scored the lone goal in the William Smith game, and sophomores Alle Sharlip, Adie Sherwood, and Elizabeth Tooley.
The midfield is led by junior Katie Kehrberger, a corner kick specialist, and her classmate Becky Mann, who ranks fourth on the team with ten points.
McArdle steadied the defense this season, posting a .74 goals against average, while saving 87 percent of the shots she has faced.
Tufts started the NCAA Tournament with a 5-0 trouncing of the University of New England, then headed up to Middlebury to play the regional finals. There, the Jumbos knocked off Bowdoin on penalty kicks in a double-overtime, white-knuckle thriller, then defeated Wheaton 3-1 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The 1-0 win over William Smith gave the Jumbos their 17th victory of the season.
Tufts will face Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday at 11 a.m., with the College of New Jersey and Trinity (Texas) squaring off in the other semifinal. The winners will play each other on Sunday for the NCAA Championship.
