An early penalty kick was the only score by either side when Brandeis faced off against the Washington University Bears last Friday night on Gordon Field. The Judges fell 1-0 to their first UAA guests of the weekend, but went on to tie the second game 0-0 on Sunday against the University of Chicago Maroons.
“Fifty percent of refs would call that a penalty,” head Coach Michael Coven told The Hoot. “They were tight calling officials.”
The penalty kick, which came just over 12 minutes into the game, was the result of a handball by a Brandeis defender in the box. Forward John Hengel ’10 took the shot and sent the ball past keeper Matt Lynch ’11 for the eventual game-winner.
“We played the best soccer we have all year and we just couldn’t score,” Coven said.
While the Judges outshot Wash. U 14-12, only two of the Brandeis shots were on target compared to six for the Bears.
“This season has been so frustrating,” Coven admitted. “We’ve got a poor record but we’re a good team.”
The Judges were still unable to get on the board against Chicago on Sunday, but, thanks to a career-high 11 saves by Lynch, they were able to draw a tie. Both keepers made some incredible saves to keep the shutout going including a diving save in the 84th minute by Lynch that sent the ball just wide of the net.
In overtime the Judges were put at a disadvantage when midfielder Kyle Gross ’11 received his second yellow card of the game in the 95th minute and had to leave the field. The team played one man down through the remaining 15 minutes.
Lynch came out strong for the Judges as the Maroons laid heavy pressure on him to give them a chance to take the lead. Midfielder Corey Bradley ’10 gave Brandeis their best shot at a lead in the last minute of play when he sent a shot just above the crossbar.
Brandeis will close out their season on Saturday at 11 a.m. when they face New York University on Gordon Field.
Coven hopes this will be an opportunity for the boys to come out on top. “NYU is not as good as they have been, but they are still good, all UAA teams are good,” Coven said. “We have to score goals. We have so many 2-1, 1-0 losses. We need to get more out of ourselves. We’re so close to being a good team.”
