Its been a tough week and a half for the Brandeis Womens Soccer Team. After starting the season 6-2-1, the Lady Judges confronted a stretch of four straight games against nationally ranked opponents, and they did not fare well. Though the Judges were able to keep each game competitive, they came out on the wrong end every time and saw their record fall to the .500 mark. The Judges now stand at 6-6-1 with five games left on the schedule, the final three of which are at home against UAA opponents.
After a 2-0 loss at Tufts University and a 2-1 defeat against the University of Rochester, the Judges headed to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for a match with the undefeated Tartans, who came into the game ranked eighteenth in the nation. Brandeis kept it close early, but the Judges fell behind after thirty-seven minutes of play as forward Abbey Coffin headed in an Amanda Rose corner kick for her eighth goal of the season. Coffin struck again just four minutes later, this time hitting a left footed shot into the right corner of the net. Brandeis not only took a 2-0 deficit into halftime, but was also outshot 12-2 through the first forty-five minutes. The Judges best chance of the second half came off a shot from Meredith Milstein 09, but Carnegie Mellon goaltender Christie Adams made a diving save to ensure the shutout. Brandeis keeper Betsey Medow 08 had six saves in the loss.
Only two days later, the Judges traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for a meeting with the Emory University Eagles. The Brandeis defense held Emory off the scoreboard for ninety-eight minutes, but Nancy Wilson scored the golden goal in overtime and the Eagles escaped with a 1-0 victory. Medow made ten saves as Emory pelted the Brandeis goal with thirty-two shots. Nicky Guertin 08 had the best chance of the game for the Judges, but her shot in the thirty-seventh minute was turned away by Emory goaltender Amy Francisovich, who made five saves to register the shutout. This was the fifth time that the Eagles have needed overtime to decide a contest this season, but the team is undefeated in the extra session. This was the second time that Brandeis has been forced into an overtime period, the first being their 2-2 tie with Springfield on September 17th.
The Judges continue their stretch of four straight road games on October 22nd against St. Josephs College. Then the team travels to Plymouth State University on October 25th before returning home for a match with Washington University on the 28th. Brandeis has managed to score just one goal in its last four games, and is going to have to find a way to put points on the board if they hope to break out of their current slump.
