This past week, the 10th nationally ranked Brandeis women’s soccer team battled it out in two games, securing a win in their University Athletic Association (UAA) Conference Opener versus Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, but unfortunately lost a tough one against Lesley University Tuesday night.
Kicking off the Homecoming weekend, the Judges defeated the CWRU Spartans 2-0 to continue their unbeaten run to 8-0. In only the 17th minute, senior Becca Buchman ’19 knocked home her first goal of the season. Buchman is also the 12th player to score a goal this season. Joining her in the second half was junior Katie Hayes ’20 who scored her fourth goal of the season off a corner kick from rookie teammate Lauren Mastandrea ’22. This put Hayes as the team’s top scorer of the season. The two goals came from the advantage of 23-5 shots on goal and a corner kick advantage of 10-0 as well. The Judges also helped junior Sierra Dana ’20 earn her first solo shutout of the season to bring the team’s total to 5 for the entire season thus far.
On Tuesday night, the streak came to an end as Brandeis sadly fell to Lesley University 1-0 in a close game. The first half was looking to turn in the Judges’ favor, as they outshot the Lynx 10-5 including 5 shots on goal compared to Lesley’s three. To their dismay, nothing fell and the first and only goal of the game came from Lesley’s own senior Jordan Mitchell ’19 who dropped one in right under the crossbar passed Brandeis’ goalkeeper Sierra Dana ’20. With a strong offensive performance, Julia Matson ’19 was overall unlucky in her attempts of two shots on goal. Despite a hard loss, senior captain B. Buchman ’19 described the game as a learning experience that has motivated them to bounce back and make this weekend their season’s defining moment.
As of now, the Judges are currently ranked No. 10 in the country for Division III Women’s Soccer with an impressive record of 8-1. They are currently ranked 2nd in the UAA’s, behind the undefeated Washington University. Brandeis will resume UAA play on the road against. Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh this Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
