Brandeis’ men’s soccer team came into the week ranked No. 25 in Division III in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll. The Judges took on Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at home on Gordon Field, and for the fifth year in a row, the two squads battled into overtime where neither team was able to come away with the win. The game finished on a 1-1 draw.
The WPI Engineers struck first in a counterattack in the sixth minute of action. The ball was hit over the top of the Brandeis keeper to open up the scoring. However, the Judges responded in the 25th minute. With the ball on the left sideline, it was kicked by Dylan Hennessy ’20 and found its way to the foot of Noah Gans ’21 who one-touched the cross to midfielder Jared Panson ’22. Panson then struck home his first goal of the season, making it the first of his career as well.
The rest of the contest was filled with back and forth play as neither team was able to get it going offensively. WPI had the edge in shots 15-12 but just 5-4 shots on goal. The Engineers had the better play in overtime as they were able to outshoot the Judges 8-0. However, goalkeeper Greg Irwin ’20 did well, coming off his line making a diving save on one play to prevent several WPI scoring opportunities. The Engineers had two shots in the final minute of play and earned one last corner kick but were unable to score. Irwin ’20 finished the game with seven saves, one shy of his career best, to secure the draw.
In their second match of the week, the Judges took on the nationally ranked number one Tufts on Bello Field. It was a tough loss for the Judges as they lost 2-0 falling to 3-2-1 on the season, while the Tufts’ Jumbos, the defending NCAA Division III champions, improve to 4-0.
Brandeis suffered some big blows in the 24th minute after a scrum in front of the net. The Judges put the ball into their own goal. With the home team Tufts in the lead, 1-0, the teams began to scuffle. Forward Max Breiter ’20 was given a red card, meaning Brandeis had to play with one man down for remaining time. Tufts added a second goal on a well-executed offensive play. The Judges struggled to get any offensive going with 10 men, as their only shot on goal came in the 83rd as Hennessy got his foot on a good ball. Overall, Tufts outshot Brandeis 22-4. Goalkeeper Irwin made five saves in the losing effort.
The Judges will be off for a week until they head to Western New England University in Springfield, MA on Sept. 21 for a 2 p.m. game.
