The state of Vermont is famous for three things during the fall season: foliage, maple syrup and the success of the Middlebury College men's soccer team.
This year has been no different, as the defending national champion Panthers currently sit at the top of the NESCAC standings with a sterling 4-0-1 conference record. Middlebury's next test will come tomorrow afternoon, when it hosts Tufts in a critical NESCAC showdown.
For the Jumbos, the 2008 season has seen its share of ups and downs. Tufts has rebounded from its underwhelming performance last year, securing a 5-3-1 overall record and outscoring non-conference opponents 10-1.
But the team's 1-3-0 mark against NESCAC foes has it tied with Colby for eighth place in the standings, an important slot because the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the NESCAC Tournament. And as the Mules own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Jumbos -- Colby beat Tufts 2-1 in double overtime on Sept. 13 -- the Jumbos would miss out on the conference tournament for the second consecutive year if the regular season ended today.
A matchup against the nationally ranked No. 4 Panthers, who haven't lost to the Jumbos since Nov. 6, 1999, would seem an unlikely time for Tufts to turn around its NESCAC fortunes. The squad is confident, however, that an upset is within reach.
"We're all aware of the significance of the game this weekend," said junior forward Dan Schoening, the Jumbos' scoring leader with nine points. "All season we've been looking forward to our chance to play Middlebury. Not that many teams each year get to play the defending national champions, but being in the NESCAC, we have that opportunity. It's an opportunity to show what we're about and what we can do."
Last year, the Jumbos managed to give the then-23rd-ranked Panthers one of their toughest games of the season. In a physical contest that featured 39 whistles and three yellow cards, the Jumbos outshot Middlebury 10-9, including 7-2 in the second half, but the Panthers ultimately prevailed 1-0.
"It's a fact in the NESCAC that anything can happen," Schoening said. "Last year's game was hard fought. We only lost 1-0, and they went on to win the national championship, so they're coming into this game with all the expectations and we have nothing to lose. We want to go out and play like we have nothing to lose."
Tufts approaches Saturday's contest with renewed confidence following a 4-1 dismantling of Plymouth State on Tuesday night in which four different players scored goals. Still, the Jumbos know that at this point in the season, the conference games are what truly matter.
"It wasn't an unbelievable performance; it was just good," senior tri-captain Peter DeGregorio said. "Plymouth State is a team we should beat. We're going to need to bring our 'A' game to beat Middlebury."
"It's obviously good to go into any game coming off of a win," Schoening added. "But we had two NESCAC losses before that, which were a couple of results that we weren't too excited about."
In order to have a chance to compete against the Panthers, the Jumbos will need to be more effective offensively; in four NESCAC contests this season, Tufts has managed just three goals.
But scoring won't be an easy task against Middlebury, whose defense has recorded an astounding 22 shutouts in its last 29 games.
"We need to improve [on] both creating and capitalizing on good chances," DeGregorio said. "They're an excellent team, and they're hard to score on. We also need to work on staying focused for the full 90 minutes and not have any breakdowns."
If Tufts can accomplish those goals, the game on Saturday could be much closer than the standings would predict.
"I think [the standings] are misleading," DeGregorio said. "We had no results against Colby and Bates, which are two teams we should have beaten. Right now we're towards the bottom of the rankings, but I think we're more middle of the pack. Our best has yet to be seen."
"We can compete with every team in the NESCAC," Schoening added. "I know that there are wins in front of us."
