In their last home match of the season, the Judges recorded a 2-1 loss against the the Mammoths of Amherst College. This non-conference matchup was the first to occur between the two teams during the regular season since 1999, whereas both schools typically cross paths in the NCAA tournament, with games in 2014 and 2016 ending in ties that resorted to penalty kicks favoring the Judges.
The visiting Mammoths made the first moves, with both of their goals coming fairly quickly into the first half. Just a minute after kickoff, a long ball came into the control of Amherst, leading to a header and a subsequent shot on goal, landing in the far left net to get the game started. Amherst connected yet again in the 12th minute, coming off of another header then pass combo, with a third Mammoth getting a touch before finding the goal. The rest of the first half went scoreless for both teams, meaning that Brandeis had some catching up to do in the second.
The fire to bring the Judges back into the game came from transfer Bryant Nardizzi ’20, as he scored near the 80th minute of regulation play. His assist came from Noah Gans ’21, who brought the ball to the center of the field after dribbling up the right sideline and made a pass to his teammate. Nardizzi was then able to take a few dribbles before positioning himself to take a strike from 20 yards out. The ball landed in the upper left corner of the goal, resulting in the final score of 2-1 for the game. This was Nardizzi’s sixth goal of the season, making him the team’s scoring leader.
Inside the stat line, Amherst outshot Brandeis 16-10, with shots on goal totaling at 9-5, while the Judges collected more corner kicks in a 5-2 decision. Keeper Greg Irwin ’20 made five saves throughout the match as well, with the Judges’ defensive line coming in to help, clearing the ball twice.
With the loss, Brandeis drops to a 7-6-2 record, while Amherst advances to 10-3-1. The Mammoths closed out the season against their NESCAC conference opponent at Trinity College from Connecticut this past Wednesday. The Judges look to end their season with a three-game UAA road trip over the upcoming weekend, first playing at Washington University on Friday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m. and the University of Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 12 p.m. Lastly, the Judges will meet their travel partners from New York University on Nov. 3 at 12 p.m. for their last regular season contest.
