As Brandeis opened a 1-0 lead early in the second half, the Judges seemed to have the momentum. But a disastrous stretch saw the Judges give up three goals in four minutes as they closed out their season with a 3-1 loss at Coast Guard Academy in the ECAC quarterfinals. Freshman forward Shane Laughran scored the opening goal of the game, and minutes later the collapse started. Brandeis gave up two goals to Bears captain Judson Wheeler, while senior Matt Smith had two assists during Coast Guard's rally."We just collapsed," coach Mike Coven said. "Once we scored they started playing a couple notches higher. They dominated the second half."

Sophomore forward Shelton Stewart tallied one assist, while senior goalkeeper Ben Doyen-Charon had two saves in the losing effort. Stewart finished the season as the Judges leading scorer with thirteen goals and nine assists. The Judges finished the season with a 9-9-3.

The Judges played a physical Bears team without freshman Scott Zackaroff and senior Kevin Alvezi, two of the team's bigger defenders. A game time decision sidelined Zackaroff with a pulled groin while Alvezi sat out his second game with an ankle injury.

"They were just what we expected," Coven said. "They were big, they were very fast and they were very very physical. [Alvezi and Zacharoff] are two of are bigger kids. They're two of our more physical players. If they had played, it might have been a different story.

Wednesday's game marked the closing of four Brandeis soccer careers. Seniors Alvezi, Doyen-Charon, Chris Shannon and Dom Marginetti will all graduate in the spring. Marginetti was the team's second leading scorer this season with 6 goals and 8 assists. This season he moved into 16th place on the Brandeis all time scoring list, and finished his career with 53 points. Doyen-Charon stopped 79 shots on the season, with a .745 save percentage. Shannon had five goals and one assist, while Alvezi was the team's leader in the backfield.

"They probably all had their best years," Coven said. "I had a great group of seniors, they made the season enjoyable for me. I think they all had great careers, and they should all be proud."

"I had a great time," Doyen-Charon said of his career. "I made a lot of good relationships that I think will definitely carry past Brandeis."

The Judges season was highlighted by a 3-2 double overtime win against Case Western Reserve, impressive wins over Endicott and UMass Dartmouth a 2-0 shutout against previously undefeated MIT. Shelton Stewart provided many of the season's high points, registering two hat tricks. Stewart, Shannon, and freshman Yoni Litwok were all named UAA Athlete of the Week at one point.

Coven feels the team needs to get bigger, and is hoping to bring in recruits to provide the size the Judges need to get to a higher level play. Coven has also continuously preached winning games in the middle third of the field by winning all the lose balls and head balls that fall in the midfield.

"I'm looking for technical players with good skills. I want to bring in guys who are more physical, guys like [Zackaroff and Alvezi]. We need midfield players who can distribute the ball, and win the middle third of the field."

Coven will first improve the Judges already talented roster, and then go to work on bringing his team to the next level of competition.