The Brandeis men’s soccer team looked to carry their momentum from the win against Clark University to their first University Athletic Association (UAA) games of the season. They started with a game against Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) on Oct. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio. Last year in their matchup, CWRU got the better of Brandeis with a 2-0 win. In their first game of October, CWRU put the pressure on early with a shot off the crossbar and a few shots high over the goal. They quickly got on the board in the 18th minute to put the Judges in an early 0-1 deficit. The Judges got into trouble when one player got his second yellow card of the game to put Brandeis a man down with 70 minutes left in the game. From there, the CWRU offense kept pushing the pace, but two saves from senior goalie Aiden Guthro ’23 helped slow them down. However, CWRU scored another in the 25th minute to bring their lead to 2-0. Brandeis got their first shot of the game from freshman forward Elan Romo ’26 in the 38th minute. This ended up being the only shot the Judges would have in the first half. They were outshot 1-9 in the first half and had zero corner kicks compared to CWRU’s three. The man disadvantage was going to be tough for them to overcome, but they pushed forward. CWRU continued to dominate on offense with early shots at the start of the second half. They scored their third goal of the game in the 61st minute. The Judges had their first shot on target from sophomore back Andres Gonzalez ’25 but it was saved by the CWRU goalie. Brandeis continued to compete, but CWRU had control of the game. They scored their last goal of the game in the 72nd minute. Brandeis fell to CWRU 0-4 in their first UAA game of the season. 

CWRU outshot Brandeis 18-4 overall, while having seven shots on goal compared to Brandeis’ one. Guthro had three saves in the game, while CWRU’s goalie had one. The Judges had 10 fouls in the first half and 13 overall, while CWRU had just nine. Gonzalez had the only shot on goal, while midfielder Nico Beninda ’26, Romo and forward Sammy Guttell ’23 all had one shot. 

A week later, the Judges returned home to play Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for Homecoming and the second UAA game of the season. These two teams last faced each other in 2019, as Brandeis won the game 2-0. The game started with midfielder Rainer Osselmann-Chai ’26 sailing a shot over the goal. Senior Sancho Maroto Tobias ’23 also nearly got the team on the board early but sent his shot high. In the rest of the first half, both teams traded shots but neither team could score. The first half came to an end with the score 0-0. CMU was outshooting Brandeis 5-4, but none of the shots in the first half overall were on target. Brandeis almost took the lead to start the second half as Romo had the team’s first shot on goal, but it was saved by the CMU goalie. CMU countered by taking a shot on an open net in the 63rd minute, but senior back Forrest Shimazu ’23 jumped and headed the ball over the goal to keep the game tied. After a header that went wide right, CMU had another shot on goal, but were denied by Guthro after a diving save. CMU finally broke the draw in the 79th minute after a free kick was headed into the goal. Brandeis had one more chance in the 84th minute, but Maroto Tobias’ header was denied by the CMU goalie. The final score of the game was 1-0 in favor of CMU. 

Brandeis were outshot 10-15, as CMU had 10 shots in the second half alone. Only three of the Judges’ 10 shots were on target. Guthro had two saves in the game, as he saved nearly all of CMU’s shots on goal. CMU had 15 fouls compared to Brandeis’ 12, but the Judges had 10 of those fouls in the second half. One of those fouls led to the free kick that assisted the game winning goal. Junior forward Max Horowitz ’24, Romo and Maroto Tobias led the team in shots with two. 

Overall, the men’s soccer team has a record of 4-4-2. They will next play an away game against the University of Rochester on Oct. 14. Last year, the two teams played an exhausting double overtime game that ended in a 0-0 draw. Two days after their game against Rochester, they will play an away game against Emory University. The Judges also went to overtime against Emory last year but ended up winning after just six minutes into the overtime period to win 3-2. After back-to-back losses, the Judges look to turn it around with these last two away games of the season.