The Brandeis men’s soccer team opened up their season at the Hobart College Invitational this past weekend. Starting the season ranked as the number four team in the country, the Judges looked to build off their dream run to the final four of the NCAA tournament from the previous season.

First up for the Judges was a battle against the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons. The first scoring action of the game was in favor of the Red Dragons as they took a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute. Following halftime, the Red Dragons notched their second goal of the game in the 49th minute and managed a third goal in the 74th minute for a 3-0 lead. Luckily, this was not the first time this Judges squad had faced adversity.

Sixteen seconds after the Red Dragons took a 3-0 lead, Andrew Allen ’19 of the Judges cut the lead to 3-1. With more work to be done, Mike Lynch ’18 pushed the ball into the goal following a hectic sequence in the 86th minute to bring the Judges within one goal of tying the game. However, the valiant comeback by the Judges called just short as the Red Dragons took the game by a score of three goals to two.

The number four ranked Judges team earned their ranking for a reason: resiliency. Following their loss earlier in the weekend, the Judges bounced back with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Hobart College. Again, the Judges fell behind following a 48th minute goal from Hobart, however the Judges quickly rebounded as first-year Noah Gans scored a goal off the crossbar in the 51st minute. After both teams were unable to find the back of the net in regulation, the tie game went to overtime. Eleven minutes into overtime, Joshua Handler ’19 found the right side of the net to give the Judges and well-earned 2-1 victory.

Next up for the Judges is their game against Babson College this coming Saturday at home at 7 p.m.