Brandeis women’s soccer hosted another round of UAA games this past weekend, taking on both the University of Rochester and Emory University, sweeping the Rochester Yellowjackets 4-0 and falling to the Eagles in a tough fought 2-1 match.
The win against Rochester bumped the team up to 10 wins on the season, making this their seventh straight season to reach that achievement. After the weekend, Brandeis maintains a 10-2-0 overall record, 3-1 in the UAA, leaving them sitting at #14 nationally, according to the United Soccer Coaches poll.
First, the Judges met the Yellowjackets on Gordon field, beating them handily with an offensive push. Late in the first half, Amanda Fernbach ’20 passed to Daria Bakhtiari ’21, who headed the ball off to Emma Spector ’20, who was finally able to place the ball in goal. This was her first of the season.
It did not take long for the Judges to start their scoring streak in the second half. At just 38 seconds after the two teams resumed play, Sasha Sunday ’19 scored off of a rebound from an attempt by rookie Lauren Mastandrea ’22. This was her second goal of the season.
In the 73rd minute, senior captain Hannah Maatallah ’19 netted yet another goal for the Judges. To round out this four-goal game, Spector struck again in the 78th minute, scoring her second goal of the season in a single game, and becoming the first Judge this season to score two goals in one game.
On the defensive end, goalkeeper Sierra Dana ’20 recorded her third shutout of the season and ninth of her career, as she made four saves throughout the match.
To complete the weekend, Brandeis faced the Emory Eagles on the team’s Senior Day, honoring the eight-person class of 2019, which includes Becca Buchman, Julia Jaffe, Minjee Lee, Hannah Maatallah, Julia Matson, Sasha Sunday, Emily Thiem and Samantha Volpe.
The Eagles scored both of their goals in the first half, one coming off a penalty kick, and the other after a corner kick. Before this, Brandeis had only let their opponents score more than one goal in a single game in one other game this season.
In a comeback effort, Bakhtiari headed in a corner kick from Mastandrea with 10 minutes left in the second half. After this goal, Bakhtiari, Mastandrea, and rookie Juliette Carreiro ’22 all had chances on goal, but could not connect over Emory’s keeper. These efforts were not enough, resulting in a 2-1 loss for the Judges. This was Bakhtiari’s fifth goal of the season, becoming tied as the team’s leading scorer on the season.
In the goal for Brandeis, Dana made five first-half saves, while Victoria Richardson ’20, subbing in for Dana, made three saves in the second. Despite the uneven score, the match was balanced, as both teams shot 20 times, took five corner kicks, and committed eight fouls.
The Judges hit the road for a five game away streak, heading to Simmons University to enter a non-conference match on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
