Six days after their homecoming game, the Brandeis men’s soccer team traveled to the University of Rochester to play their second to last away game of the season. This was set to be their third University Athletic Association (UAA) game of the season in a big rematch from last year. In their matchup last year, the Judges the game went through two overtimes, but neither team could score. This year, the Judges sent out sophomore goalkeeper Quintin Wrabley ’25 for his first career start in goal.
Rochester started the game off with a couple of early shots, but they were blocked. Brandeis got their first shot in the eighth minute of the game by junior forward Max Horowitz ’24. His shot was on target but saved by the Rochester goalie. Horowitz had another shot a few minutes later but it went wide. Wrabley made his first save of his career in the 18th minute to keep the game tied. Rochester continued to put pressure on Brandeis, but the Judges’ defense held strong. Senior forward Khalil Winder ’23 and sophomore back Andres Gonzalez ’25 had the last Judges shots of the half, but the game remained tied at 0-0 at halftime. Brandeis was outshot by Rochester 5-8 in the first half and also had two less corner kicks than Rochester. Wrabley made a good save to start the second half to make sure Rochester didn’t take the momentum. First-year midfielder Nico Beninda ’26 followed a few minutes later with his first shot of the game, but it went wide. Midfielder Rainer Osselmann-Chai ’26 also had his first shot of the game shortly after, but it was blocked. For the rest of the half, the two teams traded shots, but neither team could score—until the 82nd minute when Rochester took the lead to finally break the tie. The Judges had one more opportunity to tie the game in the 85th minute, but Beninda’s shot went wide. They lost a heartbreaker to Rochester 0-1.
Although the Judges outshot Rochester 7-5 in the second half, they were still outshot overall 12-13. Rochester also had five shots on target compared to Brandeis’ four. Wrabley had a very strong first career game with five saves and just one goal allowed. Rochester had eight corner kicks compared to Brandeis’ four. The game was a physical game, as the two teams combined for 22 total fouls in the game, with Rochester having 12 of those. After nearly 200 consecutive scoreless minutes between the two teams over two games, Rochester finally got the better of Brandeis.
Looking to turn this part of the season around, the Judges traveled to Emory University for their final UAA away game of the season. Last year, the Judges also went to overtime against Emory; however, in this game they scored just six minutes into the period and won the game 3-2. Emory was clearly ready for this revenge game, as they had three shots within the first five minutes of the game; however, they all missed the net. Senior forward Sancho Maroto Tobias ’23 had his first shot of the day in the ninth minute, but it was saved by the Emory goalie. Beninda had a few consecutive shots shortly after, but they were also saved. Brandeis finally went on top after a great corner kick from Osselmann-Chai. Maroto Tobias took advantage of the great corner and backheeled the ball into the net. It was Maroto Tobias’ fourth goal of the season and Osselmann-Chai’s fifth assist of the season. The Judges weren’t done there, as Horowitz and sophomore Toby Marwell ’25 combined to get another pass to Maroto Tobias just three minutes later. Maroto Tobias once again put the ball into the back of the net and gave the Judges a 2-0 lead. That put him at five goals for the season. It was Horowitz’s third assist of the season and Marwell’s first assist of his entire career. Emory didn’t give up there, though. Ten minutes before half time, Emory scored their first goal of the game to cut their deficit to 1-2. Brandeis had the advantage in shots after the first half, 13-8, but the game was still close. The Judges also were playing very physically, with seven fouls in the first half. This would prove to be foreshadowing for the rest of the game. It took just one minute into the start of the second half for Emory to tie the game at 2-2. Emory most certainly had the momentum at this point. Beninda tried to answer two minutes later, but his shot was saved. Then everything went downhill for the Judges as they got a red card in the 51st minute. Being down a player really put Brandeis on their heels for the rest of the game. Shortly after that red card, Emory took the lead 3-2. Although the Judges were getting solid shots off, they could not convert. Additionally, since Emory had the man advantage, they continued to push the attack and that led to another goal in the 87th minute. Brandeis couldn’t make the comeback and lost 2-4.
There was definitely plenty of offense, as the two teams combined for 49 shots in the game. Emory ended up outshooting Brandeis 15-13 in the second half, but Brandeis still ended up with three more shots overall. Brandeis had 12 corner kicks compared to Emory’s nine. Senior Aiden Guthro ’23 had nine saves in the game, which was the same number of saves as the Emory goalie. Six of those nine saves came in the second half for Guthro. It was another physical game, with Brandeis having 12 fouls and Emory having nine.
It’s been a tough stretch for the Judges as they have not won a game in October. The team now sits at 4-6-2 overall and 0-4 for conference games. However, they look to turn things around with a home game against Saint Joseph’s College of Maine on Oct. 22. It is their last non-conference game of the season.
