It was exactly what they brought him here for and the Judges are thrilled to have him.Looking to rebound from their 1-2 start and build towards a winning season, the Judges turned to their new Israeli midfielder Yuval Ezer '07. A transfer from the University of Connecticut, Ezer scored three goals and registered two assists over a three-game stretch, capped by scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Gordon College last Tuesday.

It was a solid week for the Judges, winning three in a row to improve to 4-2 on the season. The Judges also defeated nationally-ranked Babson College 3-2 last Sunday and Worcester Colby-Sawyer College ended too late for this edition.

The Judges dominated play from the opening kick against Gordon, and the visitors never got a clean look at the Brandeis goal the whole game. The Judges took eight shots on goal compared to the Fighting Scots' one in a scoreless first half on their way to a crushing 19-4 advantage for the game. While neither team was able to get on the scoreboard in the first half, Evan Duvall '08 came close with a shot off the sidebar early in the game.

"The whole team played very, very well," Coach Mike Coven said. "When we defend well it creates offense for us and our backs played great. They were winning balls high in the midfield which sustained the attack."

The Judges consistently wore down the Gordon defense and finally broke through 14 minutes into the second half when Shelton Stewart '06 passed the ball over the defense where Ezer tracked it down and lofted it over junior goalkeeper Matt Hassler.

Thirteen minutes later the Judges struck again, this time thanks to a long throw in by defender Scott Zacharoff '07. Known for his long throw-ins, Zacharoff zipped one downfield to Ezer who headed the ball in for his second goal of the game. Ezer now has five goals on the season along with six assists. Jake Knoll '08 was forced to make only two saves for his first career shutout.

"He's got a long throw-in," Coven said. "We have him take all the throws now on both sides of the field. He throws a bullet."

"I can throw the ball pretty long," Zacharoff said. "I threw it downfield and [Ezer] kind of softly headed the ball over the goalie. That really swung all the momentum in our favor."

After a rain delay stopped the Judges from traveling to Wellesley to take on Babson College last Saturday, the Judges made the short journey the next day and came back thrilled with the results. Going up against a Beavers team ranked sixth in Division III, the Judges were able to muster a 3-2 victory. Stewart, Ezer and Brett Fitzgerald '08 each scored goals for Brandeis. Ezer, Stewart and Joe Levitan '08 supplied the assists.

The Judges got ahead early as Stewart and Fitzgerald scored consecutive goals three minutes apart in the first half to put the Judges up 2-0. After the Beavers closed the gap with a goal 19 minutes later, Ezer broke free downfield and dribbled the ball around the goalie, eventually getting it in the net to put the Judges up 3-1. The Beavers scored one more goal but could not get any closer.

"They have a bigger field then we do, we play bigger on a big field, we can stretch the defense and create more offense," Coven said. "[Babson] is a big rival for us so it was a nice win."

The offensive highlights during the Babson game were similar to those two weeks ago when the Judges traveled to take on Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Ezer and Yuval set the tone early, both getting off two shots and finally connecting for the first goal of the game with 26 minutes gone by. Stewart rocketed one into the goal from right in front of the net off an assist by Stewart.

Later, with just over one minute left in the half, Mike Snyder '07 rolled a soft shot into the corner of the net off an assist from Charles Goodhue '06. The Judges went into halftime up 2-0, and the score held through the second half. Matt Kaplan '05 had two saves in the shutout.

With his two goals this week, Stewart is now tied with Detlev Suderow '70 for ninth place on Brandeis' all-time scoring list with 28 career goals to go along with 22 assists.

With conference play looming-the Judges open their conference schedule Saturday at the University of Rochester-the Judges look to build on their momentum and continue improving. One issue that is resolved is the goalie job. After shuffling goalies early in the season, Coven has settled on the Gardner native Knoll. Knoll has eight saves in four games but has allowed five goals. But with better support from the defensive backs recently, Knoll has a 3-1 record.

"[Knoll] commands the box and he has wonderful presence in there," Coven said. "He has good judgement. He has good reflexes. He knows the goal area. I'm very pleased with his play."

On a three game win streak and closing in on conference play, the Judges are focused on winning.

"We still have to improve our mental game," Stewart said. "We can get too relaxed sometimes."

"Every day you have to improve," Coven said. "We still need to play 90 minutes of soccer.