Brandeis men’s soccer kicked off their season hosting the Brandeis Invitational this weekend. The Judges faced off against two teams, John Carroll University, located in Cleveland, OH, and Haverford College, hailing from the Pennsylvania town of their namesake.
Brandeis earned both wins over the weekend and begins their season with a 2-0 record.
“I think we have a really strong and talented team, but I am most impressed with the heart that the boys showed this weekend,” captain Kyle Robinson ’17 said of the team he leads.
The Judges first took on John Carroll on Saturday, Sept. 3, ending in a 3-1 win over the visiting team.
Captain Josh Ocel ’17 contributed to all three goals in the game, scoring the first off a free kick in the ninth minute of the game.
The John Carroll team then tied the game in the 33rd minute with a header off the free kick of a rookie player from their team.
The tie-breaking goal came in the 51st minute off of a corner kick from Ocel, which would find the head of Patrick Flahive ’18. The final Judges goal resulted from a penalty kick after a John Carroll foul directed at Ocel in the 63rd minute.
The following day found the Judges scheduled to play sixth-ranked Haverford College. Haverford finalized their 2015 season with an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division 3 national tournament, concluding that season with an 18-4 record, including a win against the first ranked team at the time, Franklin & Marshall College.
The Judges stole the upset win in 33rd minute. Brandon Miskin ’18 clinched the game-winning goal off an assist from captain Zach Vieira ’17 to achieve Miskin’s second career goal.
The game remained tight throughout the second half, and the Brandeis defense remained strong, only allowing one shot on goal throughout the entire half. “There were a lot of times that the team could’ve broken defensively, but we didn’t,” Robinson said.
Judges goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 made four saves throughout the game to secure the team’s lead. He remained steady through an onslaught of 15 unsuccessful Haverford corner kicks.
Just as the game ended, the team was already looking forward to the next game, according to Robinson, who reported that after the game, “the general mood of the team was focused on pushing forward into the season.”
The win was “a great day for the program,” Robinson said, but much of the team expected the win. “It definitely gives us confidence, but we know from past experience that anything could happen, so we must stay in the now and take each game as if it is our last.”
The following games find Brandeis men’s soccer on the road. The Judges faced off against Nichols College on Wednesday, Sept. 7 in Dudley, MA, a team Brandeis defeated in a 1-0 win last season. This week’s game resulted in a 4-2 win for the Judges, advancing their record to 3-0.
The Judges have an upcoming away game against Babson College, a team that tested Brandeis in the 2015 season, forcing a double overtime that would eventually result in a 1-0 win for the Judges. The game is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10.
