Teams: Women's Soccer: Team Overview

►Gamal, Nolet voted among region's best by NSCAA
►Gamal, Nolet on All-NESCAC First Team again

The Tufts University Women's Soccer program is well established in New England and on the national level. The Jumbos have advanced to two NCAA Tournament "final fours" under Coach Martha Whiting, now in her 11th season. The Tufts program's impressive winning tradition includes only two losing records in 30 years.

Last fall, Tufts went 5-0 in September before a series of injuries derailed their season. They went on to post the program's 14th consecutive winning record and finish fourth in the competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Midfielder Fanna Gamal and defender Sarah Nolet were both voted All-Conference and All-Region.

In 2007, the Jumbos finished 13-3-2 and earned the program's fifth NCAA Tournament berth. Midfielder Martha Furtek earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America honors in 2007 and Cara Cadigan broke the Tufts single-season scoring record with 19 goals and 45 points that year to lead the NESCAC by a wide margin.

The Tufts program aims to qualify for the NCAA Tournament every season. The Jumbos have a 10-4-4 overall record in NCAA play. In 2005, Tufts won the NCAA New England title for the third time and the NCAA Sectional title for the second time. Tufts hosted the NCAA "final four" on Kraft Field in 2000, and the Jumbos lost to perennial power College of New Jersey on a last-second goal in the championship game.

As members of NESCAC, Tufts belongs to the nation's most competitive small college conference academically and athletically. NESCAC is a group of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share an academics-first philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. Women's soccer players at Tufts have consistently received recognition for their academic efforts. The 2008 team compiled an outstanding 3.44 grade point average and earned an NSCAA Team Academic Award. Four players were on the 2008 NESCAC All-Academic team. Tufts has an outstanding 29-10-6 record against conference competition in the last five seasons and has finished first or second in the league in three of the last four seasons.

The Tufts team earned the 100th victory of Coach Whiting's career in 2007. Her teams have compiled a 109-45-14 record for a .690 winning percentage. Whiting graduated from Tufts in 1993 after four seasons as an all-star goalkeeper. She was the team's MVP three times and still holds the program's records for career saves and fewest goals allowed in a season. She worked for six seasons as an assistant coach under Bill Gehling and was promoted to head coach when Gehling was named Athletics Director at Tufts in July 1999. Whiting has National and Advanced Diplomas from the NSCAA. She was named NSCAA Division III National Coach of the Year in 2000 and is a two-time NESCAC Coach of the Year recipient.

Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college campus, Tufts is a major university with "an unprecedented diversity of programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented students," according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is among the most competitive in the NCAA's Division III. Tufts finished 10th in the 2009 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which awards points based on NCAA performances. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic institutions is also a major draw.

Assistant head coach Brienne Smith is in her ninth season at Tufts. She is a 2001 Clark University graduate and has a master's degree in physical education from Bridgewater State College. Assistant coach Javier Mejia-Blau is a 2004 graduate of Emerson College, where he was a two-year captain and assistant coach with the men's and women's teams. He transferred to Emerson after playing at Division I Hartford. Amy Clair, a 2006 graduate of Lehigh University, is in her second year as an assistant coach with the team.

Kraft Field, home to the Jumbos, was a gift to the University made by New England Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft and his family in the 1980s. Tufts also has the new Bello Field turf for games and practices during inclement weather. The Jumbos have an outstanding 62-12-3 record at home this decade.