Last Sunday morning, the men's soccer team was a few steps too slow in a 2-0 loss to an assertive Case Western Reserve University team. Case Western senior forward Vinny Bell dazzled, his brace punishing the Judges and ending their four-game unbeaten streak.

"It's disappointing," said coach Mike Coven in a phone interview with the Justice. "We created opportunities, and we possessed the ball well. And it breaks down in the 18-yard box. We didn't finish up. It's not like we didn't have the opportunities; we created good chances."

"We knew they had Vinny Bell," lamented Coven. "We spent lots of time this week on what we had to do to stop him, but we didn't do a very good job of that either. He scored both goals, dominating their offensive part of the field and our defensive third. He was a handful."

Bell scored in the 43rd and 82nd minutes. Last year, he earned first team All-American honors and the University Athletic Association Player of the Year. He carried over his impressive form into this season, going into last Sunday's game as one of the league's most lethal scorers.

Brandeis suffered a major setback in dealing with Bell, as defender Ethan Berceli '14 is done for the season. Berceli will need surgery on both hips to help correct a genetic issue.

"That hurts," Coven said of the loss. "He was having a very, very good season."

Bell's first goal came after he intercepted the ball in midfield, dribbled to the 18-yard box and uncorked a blast into the back of the net for his 36th career goal. Later in the game, Bell doubled his tally by poking in a give-and-go between freshman midfielder Patrick O'Day and senior midfielder Michael Ihsan. The goal not only sealed the Spartans' first overall UAA win of the season but also made Bell Case Western's all-time leading scorer.

Both goals were only the fifth and sixth allowed this season by goalie Blake Minchoff '13, who kept the Judges in the game by making six saves. Despite allowing two goals, Minchoff still remains the best goalkeeper in the UAA, leading the league in saves,with 49 and save percentage with .891. Unfortunately, the offense was unable to support Minchoff's efforts by putting the ball in the back of the net.

"[Minchoff's] been great; neither of the goals were his fault," Coven said.

"Offensively we created five, six, seven chances to score," he added. "We shot and we created good opportunities. We just didn't finish up."

Spartan senior goalkeeper Ben Yabrow saved five shots, including two from midfielder Joe Eisenbies '13 and one each from Lee Russo '13 and Sam Ocel '13. But the fact that Yabrow made five saves wasn't representative of the Judges' efforts, either. The Judges received an edge in the second half, with one of Case Western's players getting sent off in the 55th minute. However, Brandeis was unable to make the pressure play, shooting high and wide despite ample chances in the penalty area and behind the defense.

"It was our own fault," Coven said of the performance. "We got behind them defensively, and we were in on goal. But the shots, they were off—high, wide."

"We couldn't sustain an attack. We almost had to slow down to get numbers in box. Nobody would be there to finish up."

The Judges will aim for their first UAA victory this Friday at Gordon Field against the University of Chicago.

—Jeffrey Boxer contributed reporting.