The men's soccer team continued its impressive season, splitting this weekend's games against two solid opponents from its conference. The No. 15 Judges dropped Friday’s game 1-0 to the University of Rochester before winning an exciting double-overtime marathon against Emory University on Sunday. This left the team with an impressive 10-3 record, good for second in the conference, and with four regular season games left, the squad looks to finish strong and march deep into the postseason. However, the Judges cannot afford to lose too many more matches. The team has the necessary unity, talent and depth to thrive as the temperature drops for playoffs, but it will need to maintain its winning ways for the remainder of the regular season. Sporadic losses will only hurt their chances as they will need to maintain consistency.

Judges 1, Emory 0

The Judges traveled to Emory on Sunday and blanked the Eagles 1-0 in a double-overtime thriller. After 90 minutes of dead-even regulation play and a scoreless 10-minute overtime period, the Judges and Eagles entered the second overtime period locked in a 0-0 tie. With just over three minutes left in the second overtime period, forward Patrick Flahive ’18 broke the tie and gave the Judges a key overtime victory in Atlanta. Midfielder Josh Ocel ’18 started off the play with a short throw-in to midfielder Dylan Hennessy ’20. Hennessy lobbed it into a crowd and out emerged Flahive, beating the Emory goalkeeper to the ball and heading it into the net for the win. The goal was Flahive’s eighth career game-winning goal and his team-leading fifth on the season. Goalkeeper Ben Woodhouse ’18 recorded nine saves, including one just 35 seconds before Flahive’s game-winning goal. This was Woodhouse’s ninth career shutout and third on the season. It was also his 35th career win. This was the team's fourth win in a row against Emory and second straight in Atlanta. The Judges have made it very clear that they are not letting road matches disproportionately get in their way this season.

This loss drops the Eagles to 10-3 (3-1 in conference play). With the same record as Emory, the Judges now own an important tiebreaker for playoff seeding purposes. However, every match counts moving forward as Brandeis will consistently need to find itself adding to its wins column. 

Judges 0, Rochester 1

Coming into the game having won eight of their last nine, the Judges couldn’t get it going on Friday against Rochester, losing 1-0 in a hard-fought game on the road. A 22nd-minute goal was the difference in a stout defensive game by both teams. The Judges struggled offensively, attempting only four shots, one of which was on goal. Ocel was an exception, gaining control of the ball around midfield multiple times, but he could not find other attackers to push the ball up further. Ocel nearly assisted on an equalizing goal, but his throw-in was headed just wide by midfielder Alex Walter ’20. Defender Sam Vinson ’17 and Hennessy were kept busy on the back line, but they did an excellent job keeping the ball away from Woodhouse. Woodhouse recorded three saves and did his job well, but it was just not enough.

The Judges will continue their successful campaign on Wednesday against Clark University at 7 p.m., their final non-conference game of the season. Then, after a nine-day break, the team will begin a three-game home stretch of conference play against Washington University in St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 27. This will be followed by an important game against No. 4 University of Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 29. The team will close out the regular season against New York University on Nov. 4. This season should have a happy ending, as the Judges have had massive success defending Gordon Field, winning all six home games thus far. The team will look to build some momentum before an exciting postseason to come. Fans certainly have a lot to look forward to as the regular season concludes.