After a hard season of work, the Brandeis women’s soccer team was rewarded with a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. The team’s two regular goalies were injured for the season, leading the team to host open tryouts and bring on three new goalies this fall.
The Judges (11-3-3) took on the NYU Violets in their final game of the regular season. The NYU women share the same UAA conference record with the Judges, having gone 2-3-2 in the UAA throughout the regular season.
With neither team giving an inch in the first half, a goal by both teams in the second half resulted in a 1-1 draw. The lone goal for the Judges came from a junior player, but a rookie goal scorer, Julia Jaffe ’19. The goal came off a Hannah Maatallah ’19 assist. Junior captain Maatallah lobbed the ball to Jaffe in the 77th minute and Jaffe put the ball in the back of the net to even the game at one goal apiece.
The Judges outshot NYU 16-13, including a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal. Prior to the start of the game, the Judges honored their two seniors: Samantha Schwartz and Haliana Burhans. Both players have been instrumental in the Judges’ success throughout the past four seasons.
The women take on Stevens Tech in Williamstown, MA at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11.
The Brandeis men’s soccer team closed out their regular season (13-4) with a 1-0 victory over the visiting New York University (NYU) Violets. The Violets have yet to win a game against a University Athletic Association (UAA) conference opponent despite boasting a winning record of 8-7-2.
Despite a closely played first half, the game remained scoreless going into halftime. Just two minutes after halftime, forward Andrew Allen ’19 received a pass from midfielder Alex Walter ’20 that Allen handled and scored to gain the lead for Brandeis.
With an aggressive mindset the entire game, the Judges outshot NYU 16-8, with six of those attempts being on goal. After Allen scored the goal in the 47th minute, the Judges did not allow another shot on goal the rest of the contest. With the victory, the Judges’ regular season came to a close, and thus began the postseason preparation. Shortly after, the men were awarded a NCAA Division III national tournament berth for the strong season they posted.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, the Judges open their tournament with a home game against Western Connecticut State at 5 p.m. This is the Judges’ sixth straight national tournament berth. Following last season’s dream run to the semifinals, the Judges look to continue their postseason success on Saturday.
