Last Saturday, in their second of four consecutive games against nationally ranked opponents, the Brandeis Womens soccer team allowed a late goal and fell to the University of Rochester by a 2-1 score. With the loss the Judges, ranked seventh in New England, fell to 6-4-1 (1-1-0 UAA) for the year. The Rochester Yellow Jackets improved to 7-1-1, and are currently ranked 16th in the nation.
The game began under difficult circumstances, as a steady rain poured through most of the morning and had not let up by kickoff. This left the field thoroughly soaked and the ball extraordinarily slippery. Both teams had to adjust early on as the ball skipped over the wet turf and took interesting hops after many touches. In the first ten minutes Brandeis defender Rachel Koffman 06 went down due to the drenched field and had to be carried off. The rain also seemed to have discouraged many students from attending the game, as the very vocal crowd was noticeably pro-Rochester. Only a few die-hard Deis fans showed up to cheer on the Judges.
The Yellow Jackets controlled the flow of play early on in the match, and had a clear edge in possession in the first fifteen minutes. However, the Brandeis defense held tight, and the Judges were able to create some chances off of quick counterattacks. Brandeis survived a scare in the sixteenth minute as a Rochester shot caromed off the crossbar, but the Judges luck didnt hold, and Rochester took the lead when Ashley Wegraff one-timed a corner kick past Deis keeper Betsey Medow 08 in the twenty-ninth minute. The Yellow Jackets kept up the pressure for the remainder of the half, but could not find a second goal. They took their 1-0 lead and a 9-2 advantage in shots into halftime.
The second half began similar to how the first one finished, as Rochester kept the pressure on the Brandeis defense. However, the Brandeis defense continued to keep the teams deficit to one goal, and as the half progressed the Judges began stringing passes together and firing shots at the Rochester goalkeeper. Lisa Kaplin 07 forced the keeper to make a save in the sixty-seventh minute, and five minutes later Amy King 08 fired a hard shot barely wide. Finally, Lizzie Bremner 08 found the back of the net to tie the score with seventeen minutes remaining. The play began with Lauren Gregor 05 knocking the ball into the box, and Bremner skillfully redirected it past the charging Rochester goaltender. The goal was Bremners second of the season.
Unfortunately for the Judges, Rochester was not to be denied on this day. Once again, Ashley Wegraff found the ball following a Rochester corner kick, and this time she fired a shot into the lower left corner with just two and a half minutes left on the clock. The Judges did not have time to mount yet another comeback, and the Yellow Jackets escaped with a 2-1 victory.
The week preceding the game was one of ups and downs for the Lady Judges. On October 1st they defeated Case Western Reserve by a 2-0 score. Margot Moinester 09 had a goal and an assist in the match, and Gregor added the second tally. Moinesters performance earned her UAA player of the week honors. Amy King was also awarded player of the week status for her three goal outburst against Westfield State.
Following the victory, Brandeis traveled to Tufts, where they suffered a 2-0 setback against the Jumbos.
