The 30th-ranked Brandeis women’s soccer team improved their record to 9-0 on Saturday, Sept. 26 with a 1-0 win against Tufts University. It’s the team’s best start to the season since they achieved a matching record in 2003. The Brandeis victory dropped Tufts’ record to 2-4.
The win continued the team’s shutout streak. The 1-0 win made the game the Judge’s sixth consecutive and total shutout of the season.
This was goalkeeper Alexis Grossman’s ’17 fifth shutout this season. Grossman made two successful saves during the game on the two shots on goal from the Tufts offense.
It was a tight game with equal ball possession from both sides. Tufts was unable to convert possessions into shot opportunities, and their frustration showed in the 11 fouls they racked up during the game. The Judges’ defense successfully kept Tufts out of the striking zone. In the first half, the Jumbos only took one shot compared to Brandeis’ seven.
With remarkable offense, the Judges created many shot opportunities. Brandeis outshot the Tufts Jumbos 17 to five. Holly Szafran ’16 and Samantha Schwartz ’18 led the Judges, taking five shots each.
Seven shots came in the first half for Brandeis, two of which were on goal. The opposing goalkeeper made two successful saves to hold back the Judges’ strong offense. The Judges’ defense excelled as well, and Tufts’ only shot in the first half occurred in the 44th minute, which sailed wide.
A lull occurred in the game after a shot by Cidney Moscovitch ’17 in the 21st minute. The back and forth possession between the teams led to a 23-minute absence of shots until Tufts’ shot at minute 44.
Brandeis remained in the lead statistically in the second half but despite that Tufts came out strong in the beginning of the period. In the first 10 minutes, Tufts took two shots on goal, both saved by Grossman. The Judges turned the game around and were able to take three shots on goal from 10 total shot opportunities for the remaining part of the game.
The only goal of the game came in the 56th minute. A leading pass through the Tufts defenders from Szafran positioned Moscovitch in front of the Jumbos’ goalkeeper. Moscovitch was able to get the ball past the goalie with a left-footed kick that stayed on the ground. The goal was Moscovitch’s third of the season, all of which have been game-winners.
A promising shot opportunity occurred again for the Judges in the 88th minute when Moscovitch cut across the defenders to position the ball in front of the goal. A huge kick passed over the hands of the goalie and hit the top of the crossbar. Brandeis would take one more shot before the end of the game.
The team continued their undefeated record with a tie on Tuesday, Sept. 29 against Wellesley. In the game, the Judges were unable to convert any of their 19 shots on goal and the score remained 0-0 through double overtime. The Judges’ defense held off Wellesley, who took no shots on goal throughout the entirety of game.
Brandeis enters October with a 9-0-1 record. They are scheduled to face off against undefeated Carnegie Mellon at home on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10:30 a.m.
