The Judges had a perfect week, shutting out both their opponents to finish off the regular season with a win and take the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Conference Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament.
In Saturday’s game against UAA rival the New York University Violets, the Judges needed just one goal to get the job done. Brandeis held an 8-7 shooting advantage in the first half, but was unable to get on the board. The game-winner came just over a minute into the second half when Mimi Theodore ’12 headed a cross from Melissa Gorenkoff ’10 into the net.
From that point forward the Judges were on the defensive, with the Violets ending the half outshooting Brandeis 12-4.
They posted five shots on goal in that stretch. Brandeis keeper Hillary Rosenzweig ’10 had six saves overall for the 21st shutout win of her career. Two of those saves came just a minute apart. The final one of the game came in the 89th minute and with it Rosenzweig secured the win.
With the win Brandeis finished 9-6-3 overall on the season and 3-3-1 in UAA play. NYU fell to 9-8-1 overall and a disappointing 0-6-1 in the UAA. Later in the week the Judges learned that they are the top seeded team in the ECAC Tournament.
“We always hope to make the NCAA,” Head Coach Denise Dallamora said. “Our conference is tough, we tied for fourth, just short of accomplishing our goals.”
Brandeis took on the Castleton State College Spartans on Wednesday night and took them down 3-0 to move through to the semi-finals.
The eventual game-winner came in the 13th minute courtesy of Tiffany Pacheco ’11 off a cross from Gorenkoff.
The Judges tacked on another Pacheco goal in the 39th minute, this one with an assist from classmate Sofia Vallone ‘11. Vallone sent the ball through the defense where Pacheco took her shot and tacked another goal on the board.
In the 67th minute Brandeis added on the final goal of the game. Alison Maresca ’12 put the ball into the box where Kelly Doolittle ’12 put it into the back of the net before Spartans keeper Ericka Davis had a chance to respond.
Rosenzweig had four saves on the night for her 22nd career shutout and 37th win while Davis had 12 saves in the loss.
Brandeis will host their semi-final game against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, ranked fourth, at noon on Saturday. MCLA defeated fifth-seeded Emmanuel 3-0 to earn their spot.
When asked about the team’s chances of a three-peat to take home the ECAC crown, Coach Dallamora was confident in the ability of her players.
“We are a very good team, we know we can win it,” she said.
