The women’s soccer team extended their winning streak to five games over a long week of play, pummeling Eastern Connecticut State University on Wednesday and beating Johnson and Wales University on Saturday. 

Judges 2, Johnson and Wales 1

The Judges fell behind early in this one, surrendering a goal a mere 58 seconds into regulation. Freshman midfielder Olivia Cairrao bulldozed through the Judges’ defense, connecting on a through-ball from junior forward Deja Hursey and giving the Wildcats an early lead. A few wide shots and 10 minutes later, forward Sasha Sunday ’19 creamed a shot off a deflection from five yards out, giving forward Haliana Burhans ’18 an assist and tying the game at one apiece. Barely a minute later, defender Emily Thiem ’19 wound up and curved a clean shot through the uprights of the goal, giving Brandeis the lead goal in the match.  Sunday tried for two more goals, getting denied twice in one minute by sophomore goalkeeper Colleen Lynch. After a few more close shots, the first half ended and the Judges went on to win 2-1 with no goals in the second half. 

Though the score of the game was close, the box score showed no sign of competition. The Judges dominated shots on goal, giving Lynch a rough night in the box and delivering 12 shots on goal. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Sierra Dana ’20 breezed through the game, having to defend only one shot on goal the entire match. The Wildcats could not penetrate the Judges’ defense, managing a mere four shots on goal the entire game versus the Judges’ total of 18. On the offensive side, the Wildcats took a clean thrashing, posting only one corner kick while the Judges poured in a remarkable total of seven from the flag. 

The Judges improved to 5-1 on the season, with their only loss coming at the hands of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the opening match of the season. 

Judges 4, Eastern Conn. St. 2

The Judges, who came into the game ranked No. 18 by the most recent Division III poll, had a rough first half, falling behind 2-1 after 45 minutes of intense play. Despite the Judges’ seven first-half shots on goal versus the Warriors’ five, the Brandeis squad could not connect against the Warriors’ goalie junior Kayla Labrecque. Midfielder sophomore Abbey Fitzsimmon knocked in the first goal of the night 18 minutes into the match only to have forward Samantha Schwartz ’18 counter with a goal of her own to tie it in the 19th minute. After two quick substitutions, the Judges faltered, surrendering a second goal to the Warriors in the 24th minute of regulation. With only two more shots on goal, the Judges went into the half still down by one. 

In the second half, the Judges found their mojo, connecting on three unique shots. After a searing shot on goal by Schwartz in the 54th minute, defender Hannah Maatallah ’19 managed a bloop shot over Labrecque for a game-tying goal. Seven minutes later, Burhans whipped a pass from the left side of the box to Sunday, who connected perfectly for the go-ahead goal.  After a close call from Warriors’ midfielder junior Tara Shayler, who had one of the four second-half shots on goal for the Warriors, Schwartz tacked on her second goal of the game, and fourth of the season, for good measure. It all came down to the second half, in which the Judges dominated the box score. The squad managed 10 total shots in the second half versus the Warriors’ mere four and secured three corner kick opportunities while the Warriors had none. 

Dana had a solid showing, allowing two goals on five shots on goal, making for a respectable .400 save percentage.  

With the win, the Judges improved to 4-1 on the season.

The Judges will seek their sixth straight win at home today against Babson College starting at 4:30 p.m. The squad will also face off at home against Tufts University this coming Saturday at 1 p.m.