The Brandeis men’s soccer team played in two UAA matches this weekend at home on Gordon Field, playing Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) Friday night and the University of Chicago on Sunday morning.
The Judges started their weekend of UAA games with a 2-1 win over Washington University in double overtime at home on Friday, Oct. 27. Washington University was the first on the board with their single goal coming in the 12th minute. The night was a big one for Brandeis sophomores though, as Dylan Hennessy ’20 found the back of the net off an assist from Max Breiter ’20 in the 26th minute of the game, for Hennessy’s third goal of the season. The rest of regulation saw two evenly matched teams duel it out, with both teams tied at 10 shots apiece and WashU favoring in corner kicks 4-3. However, the Judges kicked it into high gear in overtime, with two shots in the first overtime period.
The game’s decision came in the second overtime period, when the Judges earned two corner kicks in a row, finally converting the second into the game winning goal. Josh Ocel ’18 found the ball on the second corner kick and sent it towards the net, where teammate Alex Walter ’20 was there to knock the ball into the net with only two minutes left in the period. The goal was Walter’s second UAA game-winner and goal of the season. As for Ocel, the assist was his 42nd of his career, which puts him two shy of Brandeis’ career record for assists.
Meanwhile, on defense for the Judges, newcomer Greg Irwin ’20 made three saves in goal, earning his third win of the season.
The second UAA game of the weekend for the Judges was not as triumphant, with the Judges falling to their opponent 1-0. The Judges kept play even in the first half of the game, falling just short of Chicago in shots, with a deficit of 8-6. However, Chicago outmatched the Judges in shots in the second half, 10-3. Chicago finally scored with 10 minutes left in the game, with the only goal of the match. The goal occurred when Brandeis goalkeeper Greg Irwin ’20 made the initial save, before Chicago’s Carter Romero ’21 buried the rebound for the game-winning goal. The Judges managed one more shot at the goal before the end of the period, but could not force the tie.
Irwin made four saves in the close match, compared to Chicago’s three saves. Irwin earned his first loss in his four starts this season, and Brandeis suffered its first loss at home of the season. The Judges are now 12-4 this season and 4-2 in UAA conference play.
The Brandeis men’s soccer team finishes their season this Saturday at home against New York University. The Judges will play on Gordon Field at 12 p.m.
