After a few tough games, the Brandeis men’s soccer team looked to turn things around against St. Joseph’s College (SJC). SJC was 11-3-1 before the game, so it was going to be a difficult game for the Judges. The game started at 2:00 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Gordon Field. Senior goalie Aiden Guthro ’23 made an early stop to make sure SJC didn’t take a quick lead. Brandeis’ first shot came from first-year midfielder Nico Beninda ’26. His shot was on target but saved by the SJC goalie. First-year forward Elan Romo ’26 had his own shot a few minutes later, but it sailed high over the goal. Beninda and Romo kept the pressure on the SJC goalie with a shot on target each in the 18th and 23rd minute. Both shots were saved, but it was a good start for the Judges. Shots from junior forward Roee Maor ’24 and sophomore forward Henning Dierks ’25 continued to keep SJC on their heels. Finally, something gave as the Judges scored in the 37th minute to take the lead. A pass from sophomore forward John Loo ’25 set senior forward Sancho Maroto Tobias ’23 up in a position for a shot. His shot went off the right post and into the net for his sixth goal of the season. Loo’s assist was his first of the season and career. SJC had back-to-back corner kicks to end the first half, but they did not score. So at halftime Brandeis held a 1-0 lead. The Judges outshot SJC 9-1 in the first half, as the Brandeis defense held strong.
The second half started with another early shot from SJC, but another save by Guthro. Romo had a free-kick opportunity in the 52nd minute but his shot was saved by the SJC goalie. After that, it was a lot of back and forth between the two teams as both teams continued to get shots off. However, it wasn’t until the 71st minute before another goal was scored. After an SJC foul, Maroto Tobias stepped up to take a 20 yard free kick. His shot went toward the near-right post and into the net to give Brandeis some insurance. It was Maroto Tobias’ seventh goal of the season and the second of the game. SJC had one more shot before the end of the game, but it went over the goal. After a few consecutive losses, the Judges were back on track with a big 2-0 win against SJC.
Brandeis outshot SJC 18-6 while having nine shots on goal compared to SJC’s two. Both of those shots on goal from SJC were saved by Guthro, giving him his fourth shutout of the season. It was also the 10th shutout of his career. The two teams were even on corner kicks at four each. Brandeis played aggressively and ended up having more fouls than SJC with 16 compared to SJC’s 10. Maroto Tobias scored both goals in the game. He has now scored two goals in a game in two consecutive games. This matchup was the first time the two teams had faced each other since 2016 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournament. Similar to this game, the Judges defeated them 3-0 in the second round. Brandeis now sits at 5-6-2 for the season. The last three games of the season will all be home and will all be University Athletic Association games. Game one is against Washington University on Oct. 28 and game two will be two days later on Oct. 30 against the University of Chicago.
