The Brandeis women’s soccer team opened up their UAA play against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans on Saturday in Cleveland, but fell to the hosts 1-0. The Judges went on to shutout the Tufts University Jumbos at Tufts on Wednesday 2-0. With the win and loss the Judges move to 5-3-2 on the season and 0-1-0 in UAA play.
Just like the game against Wellesley last week, the Judges started out strong against the Spartans and dominated the shooting opportunities in both halves. Brandeis put up 14 shots, five of which were on target, but were unable to get any past Anna Kennedy ’12, the goalkeeper for Case Western.
On the other side of the field, the Spartans got off only four shots and three were on target. Hillary Rosenzweig ’10 acted as Brandeis keeper for the first half before Jaclyn Weinstein ’12 took over. Rosenzweig and Weinstein had a save apiece.
Despite some great shots in the first half by Melissa Gorenkoff ’10 and Tiffany Pacheco ’11, the Judges were unable to capitalize on their 9-2 shooting advantage in the first half. Kennedy was able to hold off the offensive onslaught, including three saves in six minutes.
“We made some mistakes as always- we are human- but ultimately we did not finish well,” Head Coach Denise Dallamora said. “We are overall playing better defense and making less mistakes.”
The game remained scoreless until the 55th minute when midfielder Caroline Garber ’10 got the game winning shot past Weinstein from just outside the box.
“We have faith in Jaclyn’s abilities as a goalkeeper and we will not second guess our decision,” said Dallamora. “Both keepers have strengths and weaknesses.”
The Judges had a much more satisfying game against Tufts on Wednesday where they beat the Jumbos for the first time since 2004. The two teams were pretty evenly matched shooting-wise, both notching five in the first half with Brandeis outshooting their opponent 6-4 in the second, but the Judges were able to take advantage of the opportunities they were given.
The eventual game-winning goal came in the 26th minute by Mimi Theodore ’12. Pacheco had taken her shot on Kate Minnehan ’10 but the Jumbos goalie was unable to keep a handle on the ball after she saved it. Theodore sent the rebound under Minnehan and into the net. This was the second game-winning shot for Theodore.
Rosenzweig, tending goal for the Judges, kept up the team’s one goal advantage into the second half when Sofia Vallone ’11 tacked on an insurance shot in the 85th minute off an assist by Theodore. Both Minnehan and Rosenzweig managed seven saves; Brandeis got the 2-0 win. This was the 19th career shutout for Rosenzweig and it moved her into a tie for first place on the all-time list with Justine McBride ’92.
“Getting the 19th shutout was a huge accomplishment for me, but the win against Tufts meant even more,” Rosenzweig said. “The win is a tremendous boost to our confidence and I only hope we take that forward with us in our game against Rochester.”
Dallamora agreed. “For me and Hillary, we do not care about the stats,” she said. “We both just want to win.”
Brandeis will face off in their second UAA game of the season on Saturday when they host the University of Rochester at 7:30 p.m. Rochester is 7-1-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. They are currently ranked first in the UAA.
“To beat Rochester we need to dominate the game by winning the 50/50 and finish well,” Dallamora said. “I am very confident in this team; they get better and better in one way or another in every game.”
“Hopefully the success continues,” Rosenzweig added.
