In back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday, the Judges defeated Endicott College in a non-conference match-up 2-1 and battled to a scoreless draw with Lesley University. The Judges improved their record on the season to 6-8-2 and remained 0-3-1 in UAA matches.
The Judges played a very physical game Monday against Endicott. The Gulls dominated the match early on, outshooting the Judges 15-4 in the first half and earning six corner kicks compared to the zero for the Judges.
Despite the numerous scoring chances Endicott had, however, they could not put the ball in the net and Brandeis struck first. In the 27th minute of play, midfielder Mary Shimko ’14 played a ball toward the box. Forward Hilary Andrews ’14 then blew by Endicott’s central defender and beat the keeper to the ball, enabling Andrews to chip it into the left-hand corner of the net to put the Judges ahead 1-0. The goal was Andrews’ second of the year.
The Gulls finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half on a free kick. Endicott junior captain Caitlin Peters crossed a free kick into the far post to the feet of senior forward and fellow captain Colleen Peppin. Peppin then blasted the ball past Judges’ goalie Francine Kofinas ’13 to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the half.
In the second half, Endicott continued to dominate the tempo of play and the time of possession. The Gulls outshot the Judges 13-4 in the second half and had four corner kicks compared to just one for the Judges. Despite their chances in the second half, the Gulls once again could not capitalize on their opportunities and the Judges took advantage of the Gull’s ineptitude to finish at the net. At the 48:38 mark Brandeis defender Alex Spivak ’15 took a free kick from inside the center circle. Spivak’s perfectly placed kick found the feet of midfielder Mimi Theodore ’12 who was streaking in from the right side. Theodore caught the ball in stride and shot it into the left corner of wthe net past diving rookie Endicott keeper Katie Donnelly to put the Judges ahead 2-1.
Kofinas made six saves against just one goal allowed in the first half while Michelle Savuto ’15 played a perfect second half, making saves on all three of the shots she faced. Donnelly had one save against two goals allowed for the Gulls in the first 58 minutes. She was replaced by sophomore keeper Natalie Wyrsch for the final 32 minutes of the match.
Brandeis looked to take advantage of the momentum acquired from their hard-fought win against Endicott when they faced Lesley the following day. The two teams, however, played to a scoreless draw after a chilly 110 minutes of play.
The teams combined for just 25 shots on goal for the game with the Judges taking 16, nine on goal, and the Lynx taking nine, six on goal. Lesley freshman keeper Emileigh Lloyd entered the match with just 13 saves on the season but she was outstanding throughout the match, saving all nine shots that came her way.
Savuto and Kofinas saved all six shots in their split time of play, en route to keeping the nation’s third-ranked offense off of the scoreboard for the entire match.
Late in the first half, midfielder Dani Chasin ’15, who had just been inserted into the match, had the best scoring chance of the back-and-forth first half. Chasin lifted a shot from inside the left corner of the keeper’s box towards the opposite post; however, Lloyd made a leaping save deflecting the ball off of the far post to keep the game scoreless heading into halftime.
Brandeis outshot the Lynx 5-3 in the first half with starting goalie Kofinas stopping all two shots from the Lynx and Lloyd saving all three shots from the Judges.
Over a five-minute period in the second half, a would-be goal for each team was negated by an offside call. Lesley freshman defender Hannah Landerholm appeared to beat Savuto with a shot; however the shot was whistled dead on an offside call. Moments later, Brandeis midfielder Alyssa Fenenbock ‘15 had a potential goal wiped away for the same reason.
The teams headed to overtime with the Judges holding a 9-8 advantage in shots. Brandeis midfielder Alanna Torre ’12 missed a shot from 20 yards just outside the top right corner of the goal at the 95:24 mark and Brandeis defender Kelly Peterson ’14 had her shot from midfield saved by Lloyd just below the crossbar to send the game into a second overtime.
In the beginning moments of the second overtime, Savuto immediately saved a shot from Lesley’s leading scorer, sophomore midfielder Veronica Halen, off of the opening kick. The shot was the only quality chance the Lynx would have in the period. A fatigued Lynx team kept the Judges offense silent for the final ten minutes of the period to end the game in a 0-0 tie.
The Judges return to action Friday at 7:30 PM when they travel to Emory for a UAA matchup.
