The men's soccer team capped off the season by winning the 2010 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Men's Soccer Championship in a 4-2 victory over Western New England College in Springfield, Mass. last Sunday. The fourth-seeded Judges, defeated the second-seeded Golden Bears to grab their third ECAC Championship trophy."It was nice; the whole tournament, we played well," coach Mike Coven said. "Last year was probably the worst year for Brandeis soccer. But we bounced back this year [and] had a good record. We really did well; we were right in there. Winning the ECAC Championship was great."

The Judges struck early as midfielder Kyle Feather '14 headed in a free kick from midfielder Kyle Gross '11 for his fourth goal of the season, the most of any rookie. Just 12 minutes later, in the 23rd minute, midfielder Joe Eisenbies '13 added his eighth goal of the season to give the Judges a 2-0 lead going into the half.

Coven knew the team still had work to do despite the early lead.

"It scares me a little bit, because we've had early leads before, and sometimes it hasn't worked out well," he said. "Once we went up by two goals, we were more confident. We defended well as a team and limited the number of opportunities they had."

The Judges came out strong in the offensive third of the field immediately after the start of the second half. Midfielder Theo Terris '12 was fouled in the penalty area, and the Judges were awarded a penalty kick. Forward Steve Keuchkarian '11 converted the penalty in the 49th minute by shooting the ball into the upper right corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Just 7 minutes later, forward Lee Russo '13 received the ball from Feather and scored Brandeis' fourth goal of the championship game. Russo took control of Feather's pass and fired a shot into the back of the net for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

"Great goal," Coven said of Russo's shot. "We've been telling him, when you get the ball and you're isolated to take on the defense. With his speed and skill, he can beat anyone; today, he blew by his man and slipped it past the keeper off a great pass."

The Golden Bears, however, did not allow the Judges to record their third straight shutout of the ECAC tournament, as they scored twice in 17 minutes to cut Brandeis' lead in half. In the 73rd minute, senior defender John Stather was taken down and awarded a free kick. Golden Bears junior defender Corey Howard sent the free kick into the penalty area and found senior midfielder Justin Martins, who beat Taylor Bracken '11 to put his team on the board. Bracken was subbed out of the match and replaced by Matt Lynch '11 after having made six saves on the evening.

In the 84th minute, Stather scored his first career goal to make it 4-2.

Judges defender Ethan Berceli '14 said that despite the late offensive attack from the Golden Bears, the Judges were confident that they would hold on for the win.

"When they scored the second goal, there were 5 minutes left, and we had to focus ourselves again," he said. "We felt that on the bench too. But even so, at that point, we were pretty sure we were going to win."

Bracken was named the most outstanding player of the tournament, making 13 saves and allowing just one goal after playing nearly 232 minutes in the tournament.

"[Bracken] was great, but realistically he wasn't tested much in the first two games," Coven said. "If he had to make a save, he made it, but Western New England was a good team. They were in the Sweet 16 of the NCAAs last year. They had a couple opportunities that against other keepers would have been goals."

The road to the championship was equally successful for the Judges. Last Saturday, Brandeis defeated Bridgewater State 3-0. Midfielder Evan Ersing '12 set up defender Matt Hohmann '11 for his first career goal in the 40th minute. Eight minutes after the start of the second half, Feather scored to double the lead. The decisive 3-0 strike came in the 84th minute from Eisenbies off an assist from forward Nick George '14.

Three days earlier, Brandeis defeated Albertus Magnus College 5-0 victory on Gordon Field. Forward Lee Russo '13 scored four times and assisted a Keuchkarian strike in the 53rd minute.

Brandeis will graduate eight seniors this spring, a group of athletes that Coven said was key to the strong season.

"It's a testament to our seniors," Coven said. "They are a good group who were enthusiastic and led the team well.