After their come from behind win against Colby-Sawyer last Thursday to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season, the men’s soccer team dropped their game at home against Rochester on Saturday 2-1 and their match up against Babson on Tuesday 3-2. With the two losses the team drops to 4-6-1 for the season.

The Judges had an exciting come from behind win against the Colby-Sawyer Chargers last Thursday thanks to a late goal from forward Alexander Farr ’12.

After a few missed opportunities for both teams in the first half, the Chargers got on the board in the 23rd minute when Justin Varney ’10 launched the ball past the Brandeis goalkeeper, Matt Lynch ’11.

Their joy was short lived, however, as the Judges struck back less than 15 seconds later. Midfielder Corey Bradley ’10 got the equalizer with an assist from forward Luke Teece ’12.

Before the half, the Judges took a 2-1 lead. Bradley fed the ball to Eric Root ’13 who took it up the far side and shot it past the Chargers keeper. This was the first collegiate goal for Root.

The hosts weren’t about to go down without a fight, however, and tied the game halfway through the second off a header by Jon Mack ’13. What followed was a tense and hard fought 10 minutes by the Judges and their determination paid off.

In the 81st minute, less than two minutes after Farr was brought into the game as a sub for Teece, Brandeis pulled ahead. Rookie forward Sam Ocel fed a perfect ball to Farr, who headed it into the net for the game-winning goal. With the loss, Colby-Sawyer dropped to 1-10 on the season.

Unfortunately for the Judges, their three game winning streak was snapped when they hosted Rochester on Saturday in UAA play. The Judges struck first, with Farr getting his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 24th minute off an assist by forward Matt Peabody ’13.

The two teams played relatively evenly in the rest of the first half, but neither was able to get a goal on the board.

Rochester found the equalizer in the 70th minute off an assist by Phil Proud ’10, who fed the ball to classmate JJ Dennstedt. Dennstedt blasted a shot past Lynch to tie the game.

From that point on, the balance of the game shifted and Rochester outshot the Judges 10-4 in the half. Brandeis almost pulled back ahead in the 74th minute when Teece found himself alone with the ball, but he just missed the angle and his shot went wide of the goal.

The game-winning goal for Rochester came in the 82nd minute when forward Scott Cady ’10 headed the ball past Lynch off a free kick by Proud. The Judges were unable to come back and fell to their UAA competitors 3-2. Rochester moved up to 8-0-2 on the season and 2-0-0 in UAA play.

The Judges faced off in non-conference play on Tuesday against the Babson Beavers, but thanks to a hat trick by rookie forward Eric Anderson, Brandeis suffered their second straight defeat.

For the second game in a row the Judges got the first goal.

Farr got an unassisted shot past the diving Babson keeper in the seventh minute. Babson came back in the 23rd minute when Anderson got his first goal of the game off a cross from Billy Nickerson ’12 from the right side of the box.

The Beavers struck again just over two minutes later when Anderson recovered his own rebound and got the ball to the back of the net.

The Beavers started the second half up 2-1, but the game was tied up in the 48th minute when a defensive miscommunication by the hosting team led to an own goal.

The Judges couldn’t pull ahead, though, and in the 61st minute Anderson completed his hat trick with a header from 15 yards out for the game-winner.

The rookie leads the Beavers with 11 goals on the season.

Despite the disappointing loss, both teams were pretty evenly matched, with Brandeis making 16 shots and Babson 17. Lynch put up seven saves for the Judges while Peter Crowley ’12 had five stops for the Beavers. Babson moves up to 9-4-1 on the season and is currently ranked ninth in New England by the NSCAA.

The Judges next play in Pittsburgh in UAA play against Carnegie Mellon on Friday before heading down to Atlanta, GA to face Emory on Sunday. Carnegie Mellon is 11-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play while Emory is 8-3 on the year and 0-2 in the UAA.