The women’s soccer team notched victories in their first two games of the season, blanking the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4-0 on Saturday, August 30th in Cambridge and edging out Gordon College 1-0 at home on Wednesday, September 3rd.
Brandeis’s season got off to a strong start early against MIT, as rookie midfielder Alanna Torre scored the first goal of the year on a header of Taryn Martiniello’s [‘11] corner kick just 14 minutes into the game. Fifteen minutes later, Sofia Villone ‘11 doubled the lead, taking advantage of a cross from another rookie, substitute forward Izabella Miranda. The dominant period for the Judges allowed goalkeeper Hillary Rosenzweig ‘10 to sit down at half time, allowing Natasha Pieciak ‘09 to get some playing time.
Brandeis supported Pieciak with an even stronger second half. The team out-shot MIT by a 10 to 1 margin and tallied two additional goals. The first came less than a minute after play resumed on a solid individual effort from midfielder Tiffany Pacheco ‘11, and the second came in the 59th minute as Melissa Gorenkoff ‘10 set up Miranda.
Miranda’s three points on the day (1G, 1A) paced the Judges, representing a very promising opening to her Brandeis career. Pacheco’s active play was also notable; her four shots led the team in that category. Coach Denise Dallamora was able to give lots of playing time to her young bench. Fourteen substitutes got into the game, and their performance was solid with a total of 7 shots. Rosenzweig and Pieciak each made a save to combine for the shutout.
The Judges’ next game was much more difficult, however. Despite a total of 18 shots, Brandeis could only manage to score one goal against Gordon. Tiifany Pacheco was the hero, converting an opportunity from reserve rookie midfielder Kaitlin Oldfield in the 38th minute. Sofia Villone’s 6 shots paced the team; however, only one found the goal, and it was turned aside by Gordon goalkeeper Abby Ytzen ‘10.
Ytzen had to walk away with nothing to show for an excellent performance in which she faced 7 shots on goal and saved 6. Gordon’s offense was anemic all day, only mustering three shots on goal, all of which Hillary Rosenzweig stopped for her fifth straight shutout in her last five complete games.
The Brandeis women are now 2-0-0 with as they prepare to face UMass-Boston on Saturday, September 6th. Already, three freshmen and three sophomores have tallied points, showing that the youth that marks the team may not be a hindrance after all. By out-shooting their opponents 32-11 so far (including 20-3 in the second half), the Judges have proven that their victories are no fluke, so these early victories may hold the promise for a very strong season to come.
