After starting off the season with two key wins, the No. 15 men’s soccer team kept the winning spirit going this weekend with a defiant 4-1 thrashing of Bridgewater State University. The victory, on a hot Saturday afternoon, was a great way to usher in the men’s first home game of the season. 

The men faced a Bridgewater State team that had won both of its first two games, but the visitors did not have enough to match with the high-scoring Judges. 

Bridgewater State tried to slow down the Judges early by playing a very physical game throughout the first half. 

Even among some bruising tackles, the Judges managed to control the ball efficiently until they finally found the back of the net in the 12th minute. Forward Evan Jastremski ’17 dribbled the ball into the box and crossed to forward Tyler Savonen ’15, who put the ball out of the reach of the goalkeeper and gave the Judges a 1-0 lead.

Savonen then added another play to the highlight reel in the 23rd minute when he executed a perfect through ball to forward Zach Viera ’17. Viera managed to push the ball left of the keeper and into the back of the net to double the Judges’ lead. The great half for Savonen continued in the 30th minute when he received a through ball from midfielder Foti Andreo ’15. 

Bridgewater State sophomore goalie Colin Jepson mistakenly tried to come off his line to intercept Andreo’s pass, which Savonen calmly collected. With the keeper away from the goal, Savonen effortlessly kicked the ball into the wide open net for his fourth point of the game and seventh overall of the young season. Savonen’s goal, his third on the year, gave Brandeis a commanding 3-0 lead.

After the game Savonen felt great about the team’s performance. 

“Going into our first home opener, we knew that we wanted to keep the same game plan and mentality,” the forward said. 

“We wanted to play quick soccer. We knew that if we just played our game we could beat them.”

Almost all offensive attempts from Bridgewater State were stifled by Brandeis’ solid defense led by defender Conor Lahanan ’16. 

The Bears were only able to get off eight shots throughout the game, opposed to 14 shots from the Judges. The Bridgewater State offense was thoroughly outplayed by the Judges’ defense, unable to generate a single corner kick through the entire game. 

Judges goalie Joe Graffy ’15 only had to make two saves in the entire 90 minutes of the Judges’ win. 

With a 3-0 deficit looming over them as the final seconds of the half ticked down, Bridgewater State sophomore forward Prince Collins got his team on the board with an incredible goal. Collins lofted a high shot from 35 yards out that even Graffy gave up on while in the air. The ball incredibly managed to deflect off the far post and find its way into the goal. 

Playing with a two-goal advantage in the second half, the Judges played a bit more conservatively and only scored one goal after their first-half offensive outburst. 

In the 52nd minute, after Jepson saved two shots in a row, midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 picked up the third rebound and finally sent it home for a 4-1 lead. The Judges cruised for the rest of the game with their comfortable three-goal lead. 

Even though the Judges dominated throughout the game, Bridgewater State had several squandered opportunities to score. 

In a bizarre play early in the game, a throw in by Bridgewater State went all the way into the box. The ball ricocheted off Graffy and narrowly avoided being an incredible first goal. The frustration of this missed chance increased with Savonen’s first goal about a minute later. 

Brandeis will look to maintain its undefeated record against two opponents this week in a road game against Lasell College today at 4 p.m. and a home contest versus Clark University on Saturday evening, beginning at 6 p.m.

 “Our game plan will stay the same when we face Lasell on Tuesday,” Savonen remarked. 

“It is another big New England [region] game, and all we need to do is stay focused and get another win.”