With the final day of the NESCAC regular season nearly upon us, the men's and women's soccer teams and field hockey team are still unsure of their first round playoff destinations. Unless you're an engineer or a math major, this might get a bit confusing.
The women's soccer team, arguably, has the most to gain with a favorable Saturday outcome. Winning the conference would give Tufts home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a much-sought after first round bye. The Jumbos currently sit in a three-way tie for first place with the Amherst Lord Jeffs and Williams Ephs. While Tufts faces off against eighth place Conn. College, the Ephs and the Jeffs will do battle in their traditional end-of-season rivalry game.
A Tufts win coupled with an Amherst win would give Tufts the regular season crown, as would a Tufts win and an Amherst-Williams draw. Things become a little more complicated in the event of a Williams victory. A Bowdoin win at home over Wesleyan gives Tufts first place, while a Bowdoin loss coupled with a Colby win over Bates would give Williams the crown.
A Tufts loss to the Camels would give the NESCAC crown to the winner of the Amherst-Williams game. If this is the case, the Jumbos will host either the sixth or seventh seed in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday. In the event of a Tufts tie, its only shot at first place would come with an Amherst-Williams tie and a Bowdoin win.
Things are a little more clear-cut for the men's soccer team. The squad (4-4) currently sits tied for fifth place with Bates and Wesleyan (3-3-2) in the conference. The trio is one game behind fourth-place Amherst, over whom Tufts controls the head-to-head tiebreaker. If Tufts defeats Conn. College, it would need an Amherst loss and a Bates loss or tie to move into fourth place and host the fifth seed on Sunday at Kraft Field.
Bates travels to Colby on Saturday to face-off with the 2-6 Mules, who, on their Senior Day, will be looking to play the role of spoiler and could be dangerous. Amherst travels to Williams to face the 8-0 Ephs, who are currently ranked No. 2 in New England and No. 7 in the nation. While Williams could run over Amherst, the Ephs will likely be resting their starters, having already clinched the regular season crown, home field advantage and a first round bye.
If Tufts is victorious but Amherst wins, or if the Jumbos lose or tie, they will be on the road for Sunday's first round, traveling to either Middlebury, Amherst or Wesleyan.
Finally, the field hockey team poses the simplest scenario to comprehend. The Jumbos (4-4) currently sit tied in the conference with Saturday opponent Conn. College.
If the Jumbos defeat the Camels, they earn a return trip to Wesleyan, where they'll hope to exact revenge for Wednesday's 2-0 loss that cost them a shot at a first round home game.
A Tufts loss to the Camels would relegate them to sixth place in the conference, sending them to Williamstown to face the Ephs, where Tufts was dispatched 5-2 this past Saturday.
As you can see (if we've done our job), several potential scenarios are possible for the start of the playoffs this weekend. The bottom line, though, is that Jumbo teams will need to come out firing on all cylinders wherever they play if they want to survive past the first round.
