The Brandeis men’s soccer team dominated in a tough week of games before gearing up for Homecoming this weekend. The Judges played in their first University Athletic Association (UAA) conference match against Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) on Sunday, squeaking by with a 1-0 victory. They then took on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the program’s 61 meeting, making this matchup the second-longest rivalry in Brandeis history.
The game’s only goal came in the 4th minute of the game, when Patrick Flahive ’18 scored off a short pass from Max Breiter ’20. Flahive’s goal was his second game-winner and fourth of the season. The teams were almost evenly matched in shots, with Brandeis leading 15 to 13. However, Brandeis edged out their competition when it came to shots on goal, the Judges outshooting CWRU 9-2. Case Western’s best chance at scoring came toward the end of the first half when Ben Woodhouse ’18 tipped the attempt over the bar. Goalkeeping duties were split by Woodhouse in the first half of the game, and Greg Irwin ’20 taking over in goal in the second half.
The Judges were back in action against long time rival, MIT. The Judges defeated the MIT Engineers 3-1. Scoring finally opened up at the end of the first half in minute 29, when MIT scored on themselves to start the Judges off. Dylan Hennessy ’20 sent a long free kick into the box which in an effort to deflect the kick it was headed by an MIT defender. However, the ball shot off the MIT defender’s head into his own goal. The fluked sparked the Judges streak, who went on to earn two more goals of their own within 7 minutes to bring the score to 3-0 going into halftime. The second goal came in the 43rd minute, when Bernardo Ponte ’18 fed Hennessey who chipped the game-winning goal over the goalkeeper. In the last few seconds before halftime, Andrew Allen ’19 snuck around two defenders to find Josh Handler ’19 wide open. Handler converted Allen’s quick pass into his third goal of the season.
In the second half, MIT couldn’t come back from their deficit, scoring their only goal in the 80th minute. The Engineers’ Loukas Carayannopoulos ’21 launched a ball into the goal from 20 yards out. Carayannopoulos’ shot was the only ball that got by Brandeis’ Greg Irwin ’20 in his first start for the Judges. Irwin earned 4 saves in the game against MIT, including a diving save in the 88th minute to maintain the Judges’ 3-1 lead.
The Judges finished up the game with dominant numbers in shots, saves and corner kicks. The Judges outshot their opponent 18-8, while the Judges also led in saves 4-3 and corner kicks 7-3.
The Brandeis men’s soccer team will play at home game this Saturday for Homecoming. The Judges face off against Carnegie Mellon at 11 a.m. and will enter the game with a 8-2 overall record, and 1-0 in conference play.
