For the fourth time in program history, and the first time since 1984, the men’s soccer team is going to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament.
The men’s team started off the NCAA tournament at Babson, playing Western New England on Saturday, Nov. 12, in an intense 2-1 win in overtime. The Judges went on to play Saint Joseph’s in the second round of the tournament, winning 3-0, to advance the Judges to the sweet sixteen. Saturday, Nov. 19 the Judges squeaked by Amherst, tying 1-1 in regulation and two overtime periods before clinching the victory in penalty kicks.
The Judges moved on to the elite eight, playing Sunday, Nov. 20 against Rutgers-Newark at Amherst College. The Judges opened the scoring at 22:41 when Mike Lynch ’17 scored off a rebound by Evan Jastremski ’17. Lynch wasn’t done though, converting a pass from Josh Ocel ’17 into the Judges’ second goal of the game. Rutgers-Newark answered the 2-0 deficit with a goal, with less than five minutes left in the first half to bump the score to 2-1.
The Judges matched their scoring in the first half, with another two quick goals. At 66:10, Ocel took a free kick just inside Rutgers’ half of the field and found Josh Handler ’19 who scored the team’s third goal of the game. The goal was Handler’s first of the season and second of his career. Two minutes later Ocel scored off a pass from Brandon Miskin ’18. The goal was Ocel’s sixth of the season, in addition to 15 assists this season. Rutgers managed a penalty kick with just 10 minutes left in the game, but it was not enough to secure the win, and the Judges won 4-2.
The men’s soccer team takes on Calvin College in Michigan in Salem, Virginia this Friday at 1:30 p.m. If the Judges win, they move on to the championship, on Saturday, Dec. 3.
Women’s soccer secures final four spot
The women’s soccer team will be heading to the Final Four for the first time in program history this Friday, Dec. 2. The women’s team has passed four rounds of the NCAA tournament to make it to the semi-final round of the tournament.
The Judges played Virginia Wesleyan at the College of New Jersey on Saturday, Nov. 12, winning in a 3-0 victory. The second round game wasn’t as easy for the Judges, as they squeaked by with the win against the College of New Jersey in Trenton on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Judges won in penalty kicks after a no decision in two overtimes. The women’s soccer team continued on to the sweet sixteen, playing McDaniel College in a 1-0 victory.
The women’s soccer team earned their spot in the Final Four with their battle against William Smith in the Elite Eight on Sunday, Nov. 20. The Judges went into the half losing 1-0. They came back out with a sense of urgency, but still couldn’t seem to score. At 73:38 William Smith scored again, now boosting their lead to 2-0. However, the Judges answered 32 seconds later with their first goal of the game, when Lea McDaniel ’17 buried a goal below the cross bar. With 8:44 remaining in regulation Samantha Schwartz ’18 tied the game for the Judges at 2-2. The Judges then capitalized on a yellow card resulting in Brandeis’ ball, and Julia McDermott ’17 scored off a rebound for her first collegiate goal, making the score 3-2. The Judges thought they had secured another victory when with just a few seconds left in regulation William Smith tied the game at 3-3, sending the game into overtime.
The Judges were not about to end their season though; just 103 seconds into the overtime period Jessica Morana ’17 scored to give the Judges a 4-3 victory over William Smith. The win will send them to the Final Four. The women’s soccer team will play in the semi-final game of the NCAA tournament this Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Salem, VA against Washington University. The Championship game will be played Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
