The Judges closed out a disappointing road trip in Pittsburgh on Sunday, being shut out 3-0 by Carnegie Mellon. The loss came after losing in a 6-1 rout against Emory University in Atlanta on Friday. Despite a 2-1 win earlier in the week against Colby-Sawyer, the Judges dropped to 9-8-2 for the season losing grasp on their slim playoff hopes.
"It was a very disappointing weekend in general," coach Mike Coven said. "Carnegie Mellon I don't know if we even got off one shot. They totally dominated us. They were relentless on the attack. They beat us to every 50-50 ball."
Emory senior forward Chris Nehls had a huge game Friday, leading the number three nationally ranked Eagles over the Judges. Nehls had two goals to go along with two assists. Sophmore forward Shelton Stewart scored the only goal of the game for the Judges. Stewart netted his 13th goal of the season early in the second half by converting on a penalty kick. Sophmore goaltender Pat Makridakis had five saves for Brandeis. Makridakis has been seeing more time in front of the goal recently in relief of senior Ben Doyen-Charon.
"The goalkeeping's been a little suspect," Coven said. "We gave up nine goals in two games, so I've been alternating Ben (Doyen-Charon) and Pat (Makridakis) just trying to see which goal keeper would be the most effective. They both played over the weekend, and I think the statistics speak for themselves."
"They were both better teams than us," Coven said. "We didn't do well offensively or defensively. It was a very bad weekend for us."
The only bright spot last week was a 2-1 win over host Colby-Sawyer in New London, NH. Stewart and senior Dom Martingnetti each scored goals, both assisting each other. Martingnetti now has twenty points on the season. Makridakis played the whole game at goalie, saving four shots.
The Judges have only one game remaining, against New York University at home on Saturday at 11 AM. NYU is 9-4-3, coming off a 3-1 loss to Emory.
"We've got to defend better in front of our own goal," Coven said. "We give up a lot of balls on corner kicks and throw-ins. We've got to be more aggressive and more intelligent."
The Judges' next game is Saturday, at home against New York University at 10 a.m.