After the men’s soccer team started the season with three wins, this past week has challenged the Judges as they suffered a loss Saturday against Babson and a tie Wednesday against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The Judges fought back in their games, which both ended after double overtime.

In the Babson game, neither team had any lack of chances to score. However, Babson had the advantage in shots, 19-15 (6-5 on goal) and corner kicks 12-5. The closest the Judges came to scoring during regulation was in the 62nd minute when Andrew Allen ’19 just missed a shot off a breakaway. On the defensive end, Brandeis goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 turned away six shots on goal in an outstanding performance.

The loss came in the second overtime period when a Babson player kicked the ball off the arm of a Brandeis defender, resulting in a penalty kick in Babson’s favor. Babson’s Noah Parker was the one to take the shot and buried the ball in the net with 2:18 left in the second overtime. This sole goal of the game was enough for Babson to secure the win over Brandeis, 1-0. This is the first time since 2011 that the Judges have lost to Babson and their first time losing to a New England team since 2013.

The Judges were back in action again on Wednesday against WPI. The two teams played 110 minutes without a goal for either team.

Allen again came the closest to scoring for the Judges in the 19th minute. He had three shots in the game and two on goal. Dylan Hennessy ’20 threatened as well in the 82nd minute, but WPI’s goalkeeper had an incredible deflection. Hennessy was close behind Allen with two shots on goal, while Patrick Flahive ’18 had one shot in the game for the Judges. On the defensive end, goalkeeper Woodhouse had three saves in the game.

The Judges are now 3-1-1 for the season. The men’s soccer team will enjoy a short break from games before hosting Tufts on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.