At the start of the 2005 fall season, nobody really had any clear idea of what was in store for the women's soccer team over the next three months. In the end, all doubts were put to rest, as the Jumbos compiled one of the best regular-season records to date and made a run to the NCAA National Semifinals as part of a season that firmly established Tufts soccer as a premier program in the nation.
The squad was returning plenty of talent, but after losing seven seniors, including co-captains Sarah Gelb and Becky Greenstein, all-time saves leader Meg McCourt, and leading scorer Jen Baldwin, among others, nobody knew how the team would respond.
"We knew we had lost a lot of players from the year before, but you're always excited for a new season," senior tri-captain Sarah Callaghan said. "Getting to go to Bermuda for preseason really starts off the feeling that it's a new year and a new team."
An opening day 2-0 loss to the Colby Mules didn't appease those reservations, but what went on over the next 20 games ended up writing the story for one of the most historic seasons in the team's history. The Jumbos rattled off a school-record ten straight wins including victories over nationally-ranked Wheaton, Middlebury, and Amherst in a 10-day span.
A 1-0 final-game victory over Connecticut College put the Jumbos at 6-2-1 in the conference and gave them the right to host the conference tournament for the first time since 2002. After receiving a first round bye in the tournament, Tufts exacted a little revenge on the Mules with a 2-1 victory to advance to the NESCAC final.
"It's always so great to play at home, especially here because we are so fortunate to have people that want to watch us play," coach Martha Whiting said. "It's one thing to play at home in front of a few parents and friends, but to play in front of sometimes 1,000 people is a huge thrill. It's a huge advantage for us."
Despite falling to the Bates Bobcats 2-1 in a double-overtime thriller in the NESCAC Championship, the Jumbos, who had been a mainstay in the national rankings all season, still earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, and the opportunity to host the NCAA Regional Championships the following weekend. After breezing through Johnson & Wales in the quarterfinals, Tufts ran into the Bobcats once again for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Tufts didn't let this opportunity slip away, as a near-perfect goal by junior Kim Harrington proved to be the lone score in a 1-0 victory for the Jumbos. The win advanced Tufts to the Sweet 16, where they faced regional foe Wheaton College, a mainstay in the NCAA tournament each year and a perennial favorite.
Whatever Whiting said in her halftime speech clearly worked, because after going down 2-0 heading into intermission, Tufts put together its best half of soccer of the season, scoring five goals against the Lyons to run away with a 5-2 victory.
"Down 2-0 at halftime, we thought we could come back, but I don't think any one of us would have guessed we would have scored five goals," Callaghan said. "If it wasn't our best game, it was definitely our best half."
The Jumbos still had some magic left in their toolboxes on Sunday, though, as the squad came out to face host and former National Champion Oneonta State with a final four bid at stake. If the Wheaton game was Tufts' best of the season, the Oneonta State game was certainly the team's most exciting. After playing to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation and two overtimes, a trip to the final four would have to be decided by a shootout.
"Words can't even describe how unbelievable it was," Whiting said. "In a matter of an instant, [junior goalkeeper] Annie Ross makes a save and we're moving on. It was so awesome; honestly it gives me goosebumps."
The soccer gods were on the Jumbos' side in the shootout, as Tufts advanced with a 4-3 victory on spectacular goalkeeping from junior net minder Annie Ross.
The magical season for the Jumbos ended in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, when Tufts ran into an extremely talented College of New Jersey squad, and the Jumbos lost 3-0.
On such a team-oriented squad, several individual players put forth unbelievable seasons. Atop that list was senior-tri captain Ariel Samuelson, who led the NESCAC in goals (12) and points (27). She was named NESCAC Player of the Year, was a member of the All-Region First Team, and was named a First Team All-American.
"Everything we do revolves around doing things as a team, and she'll be the first to tell you that she wouldn't have been able to do anything she did without her teammates," Whiting said. "She thrived on being our go-to person. She's so competitive and she thrives under pressure. She's only our second first-team All-American, which tells you how much of an impact she had in the NESCAC and nationally. She's a phenomenal player and a phenomenal person. And she adds a great goofy element to our team."
Senior Lydia Claudio and sophomores Martha Furtek and Joelle Emery joined Samuelson on the All-NESCAC and All-Region squads, while Callaghan, despite being plagued by a knee injury for a good part of the season, led the conference in assists per game.
On defense, junior Jen Fratto and sophomores Emery, Annie Benedict and Jess Wagner, along with Ross, were the leaders of the team all season and kept the squad in the game numerous times this season.
"They work really well together, and to have all four of them coming back for a year together only bodes well for us," Whiting said. "Who's to say that they won't move around to other positions, but if we were to keep them together they would be unbelievable next year."
While emotions are running high for Tufts' five seniors, Callaghan, Samuelson, Claudio, and classmates Lindsay Garmirian and Cate Meeker, leaving the program has been made easier because they know they leave the team in capable hands.
"Being successful creates the desire to maintain that success," Callaghan said. "My class felt that after winning NESCAC's our freshman year, and I'm glad that we could be a part of giving that experience to the underclassmen this year. I have no doubt that they'll be great again next season."
