This has been an excellent start to the season for Brandeis Women’s Soccer, including celebrating a 300th win for Coach Denise Dallamora and another two sweeping victories this week. The Judges rolled past Lasell College 2-1 on Saturday and dropped the hammer on Bridgewater State University with a 6-1 win this Tuesday.
“We now have homemade canvases throughout with inspirational quotes and team goals and it really helps us stay motivated,” said Holly Szafran ’16. She again expressed her satisfaction by stating that the current team spirit is “a lot stronger than previous years.” The 300th win milestone for Dallamora’s career at Brandeis has also become a strong positive impact on the Judges players. “We love telling Denise after every win how many wins she now has (302). We love making her proud,” stated Szafran.
The Judges have been transformed this season, with five new and talented first-year players. Samantha Schwartz ’18 has already notched four personal goals and two assists in her first four college soccer games. The first-year forward has been leading the team with scoring and achieved another two goals in the game versus Bridgewater State University. “As an attacking mid, she has been so easy to work with and really helps the transition of play from the midfield to the forwards,” said Szafran.
In these three victories, the Judges outshot the opponent teams appallingly by 91-8, showing a formidably impenetrable defense. The extra work “on shots and crosses outside of practice” according to Szafran has also activated the Judges’ offensive efficiency. “After playing Bridgewater today, I think as a team, we found confidence that we all can have some impact on goals which is what we really needed after playing games and only winning by 1 goal,” said Szafran.
The Judges will be facing another important opponent on Saturday, Sept. 13, the UMass Boston Beacons on the Brandeis campus. The Beacons have not suffered any losses in the new season yet, as they hold a 2-0-2 record. As Szafran said, “We all (midfielders included) need to be scoring a lot more and have direct impact on goals scored when we start reaching the UAA games.” Therefore the game against the Beacons is another great opportunity for the Judges to continue improving their offensive end.
