The path to the NCAA Championship title will be similar to last season, but this year, the field hockey team hopes that its journey will end on a high note.
Fresh off capturing the NESCAC championship on Sunday, Tufts will embark on its fifth trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament this weekend. Last year, the coveted championship trophy eluded the Jumbos, as they watched NESCAC rival Bowdoin walk away with the title following a double-overtime heartbreaker.
But with the two-time defending champions denied an at-large bid into the tournament and Tufts having arguably the weakest draw in the bracket, the Jumbos are determined to fight their way back to the top.
After receiving a first-round bye, the reward for winning arguably the nation's toughest conference, Tufts is slated to take on MIT in second-round action Saturday morning. The Engineers advanced to a date with the Jumbos after going on the road and knocking off Nichols College 2-1 yesterday afternoon.
At least one factor working in Tufts' favor will be experience. While MIT is in the middle of its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, the Jumbos reached the second round in 2007 to go along with their finals appearance of a year ago.
"Our experience in the playoffs last year and our competitive regular season has really mentally prepared us for this weekend," junior defender and reigning NESCAC Player of the Week Jess Perkins said. "But we have to take every team seriously because everyone is fighting for their life."
Though MIT has at least gotten its feet wet by surviving a tough contest against Nichols, the Engineers will be huge underdogs compared to the nationally ranked No. 4 Jumbos. The NEWMAC champions suffered 5-1 and 3-2 losses at the hands of Wellesley College and Babson, respectively — teams Tufts beat 9-0 and 2-1.
"Part of the reason we've been so successful this year is because we take every game so seriously and don't underestimate anyone," junior midfielder Tess Guttadauro said. "That's why we have to come out giving 100 percent because you never know when anything less than that won't be enough whether we look better on paper or not."
If the Jumbos are able to get past an upset-minded MIT squad, they'll host the winner of the second-round matchup between Skidmore and Amherst on Sunday, with the victor punching its ticket to the Final Four.
The Lord Jeffs made quick work of first-round foe Husson yesterday afternoon. In a season where it has had tremendous success against some of the NESCAC's upper-echelon teams — with victories against national No. 15 Bowdoin, No. 12 Middlebury and No. 6 Trinity — Amherst will now get a crack at No. 9 Skidmore.
But despite the lofty competition, the Jumbos believe they have the upper hand due to a rigorous regular season.
"I think the strength of our schedule really prepares us for the postseason, just looking at the fact that four NESCAC teams made the tournament," Perkins said. "I think we just have to work on simplifying everything to one play at a time, one game at a time, playing to our potential. We're confident if we do that, we will be successful. It's all in our control."
That really is all the Jumbos will have control over from this point forward: their game and their health. With so many possible outcomes, there is no preparing for specific opponents.
"This week's focus is basically on recovery and strategy with light practices," senior defender Emma Kozumbo said. "We had a mock-tournament weekend to practice how it feels to play the day after a game and I think that really has helped us gauge how to play two games in a row.
"It's all mental at this point," she continued. "We're focusing on going into the tournament taking one game at a time, but with the goal of completing four games at our physical and mental best. It's a dual mentality between having short-term goals with larger aspirations."
At the very least, the Jumbos will have the benefit of home-field advantage.
"We're really excited to be home on our turf with our fans all supporting us in our home uniform," Perkins said. "In the past, we've had to travel to Pennsylvania and Maryland for [NCAA] games, so it's a proud moment to be able to host for the second year in a row."
"I definitely think that this year, since we got so far last year, our fan base has grown and it's really nice to have a student body that knows and supports what you're doing," Kozumbo added. "We put in so much time and effort; it's just great to have so many people believe in us."
And with support from a friendly crowd, the Jumbos seem determined to repeat last year's run, when they appeared on Div. III field hockey's biggest stage: the championship game.
"I want teams to walk off the field and know how bad we wanted it," Perkins said. "This season is an accumulation of years of building the program and this past off-season it really showed with everyone giving so much more than was ever expected before."
