The momentum looked like it was shifting late in the game. After Lauren Gregor '06 scored a bloop goal with some help from Western Connecticut, the Judges looked to be on the move. But less than a minute later, Colonial forward Nicole Corbin struck for her second goal of the game, sealing a 4-2 loss for the second seeded Judges as the team hosted the fourth seeded Colonials in the ECAC New England Championships on Saturday. Coming on the heels of a 1-0 victory over visiting Salem State College in the semifinals last Thursday, the Judges finished the season 16-5."We fought hard," Gregor said. "It's definitely still a very successful season. We have nothing to be upset about."

"They've done a great job this year," Coach Denise Dallamora said.

The Judges had been trailing 3-1 for almost 15 minutes when Gregor finally broke through. Gregor fired a shot from just outside the box that bounced off a Colonial defender's head and past the outstretched arms of the Western Connecticut goalkeeper into the top right corner of the goal. Only 55 seconds later, Corbin broke free near the goal and slipped a shot past Judges' goalkeeper Natasha Pieciak '06 for the final margin of defeat.

Lisa Kaplin '08 had a few good opportunities in front of the net after Corbin's second goal, but Colonial goalkeeper Ashley Griffin had nine saves to preserve the win. The Colonials poured on 21 shots while Brandeis had 16.

"We had a lot of opportunities," Gregor said. "We just couldn't finish."

"There's only so much you can do," Kaplin said. "We had all the opportunities but in the end they just wanted it more."

"[Western Connecticut] did a good job defending," Dallamora said. "Their goalie was very solid."

Corbin also victimized the Judges for the first score of the game. Shooting from just inside the box, she opened the scoring for Western Connecticut in the sixteenth minute. Despite eight shots in the first half, the Judges were unable to convert until Amy King '08 scored her third goal of the season off a beautiful cross pass from Kaplin with only a few minutes remaining before halftime. The game was tied at halftime, but the Colonials struck for two goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Before falling to the Colonials, the Judges hosted Salem State College in the semifinals on Thursday. The Vikings had previously allowed only one goal in 10 games, and one goal was all it took for the Judges to get to the ECAC finals as Brandeis topped Salem State 1-0.

Gregor scored the only goal of the game when Rachel Koffman '06 sent a pass across the goal and Gregor just barely sent the ball over the goal line. The Judges registered 13 shots to the Vikings' 11 and Pieciak had eight saves in the win. It was a physical game which turned dirty by some accounts, with several yellow card warnings given in the second half.

"They were very physical," Melissa Gordon '07 said. "They didn't really go for the ball, they went for the body every time."

"[Pieciak] had an awesome game," Kaplin said. "She was going for everything."

Despite their season ending in a loss, there is excitement about the future. The Judges have continuously improved, going to the ECAC semifinals last year and playing in the finals this year.

The team is losing only four seniors to graduation, and the high scoring duo of Kaplin and Gregor will get to gel for another year. Kaplin finished with a team-leading 15 goals, with Gregor close behind at 13.

"Next year we'll win it," Dallamora said. "We need more depth in the [backfield].

"I think we'll be just as good next year," Gregor said.

If the Judges continue improving, they could be even better.