In the last game of the season, the Judges tried to rally back from a 2-0 deficit, but Ben Premos goal 14 minutes into the second half, was not enough as the NYU Violets defeated the Judges 2-1. The loss put an end to a disappointing season in which Brandeis finished 6-9-2 overall with a 0-5-2 UAA record. NYU completed the regular season with an 11-6-1 record (3-4-0 UAA).
NYU scored first in the 20th minute when midfielder Antonio Trillo 07 surfaced from a scramble in front of the net to score his second goal of the season. The Violets took a 2-0 lead in the 35th minute when midfielder Jon Simos 07 kicked the ball into the box to midfielder Jerritt Thayer 08. Thayer headed it into the goal for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Brandeis started the second half with more intensity. Premo 09 believes one of the problems for the team this season has been the lack of focus in the first half. We always come out slow and unmotivated. We always come back in the second half. Half of our losses could have been wins, Premo said.
In the 59th minute, midfielder Adam Guttman 08 sent a ball deep to the end line that midfielder Evan Duval 08 ran down and sent to Premo. He one-timed the ball into the net, for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. The Judges controlled play for much of the second half. Their final scoring opportunity came in the 78th minute, when midfielder Brett Fitzgerald 08 took a shot, but NYU rookie goalkeeper Chris Wright was able to stop it to preserve the 2-1 victory.
Midfielder Zach Cohen 09 was not pleased with the teams play in the final game of the season. NYU was going straight through the middle. We played well in the 2nd half, but our offense couldnt connect, he said.
The 2005 campaign was difficult for the Judges as they started the season 4-0, but failed to win any of their last nine games. The team had trouble scoring and was injury plagued for most of the year. The team lost Yuval Ezer 07, Brian Bisceglia-Kane GRAD and Jake Knoll 08 during the season. This made it tough for the Judges to maintain a consistent lineup where the players could become comfortable playing with each other. One bright note for the Judges was the play of Premo, who finished the season with 24 points.
This was the last game for five seniors on the team: goalkeepers Matt Kaplan and Pat Makridakis, midfielder Charles Goodhue, forward Oren Nhaissi and defender Shelton Stewart.
Despite the disappointing 2005 season, the team hangs on to a solid core of young players for 2006 including starting goalkeeper Jake Knoll, Ed Colburn 09 (3 goals) and Premo, the teams leading scorer.
