Coming into the month of October, the women’s soccer team’s winning streak came to an end after a game against Lesley University. Despite the loss, the Judges are still pushing on with the season. With 10 games behind them and seven left to go, this team is in an excellent position for the rest of the season.  The Judges are ranked 10th in Division III by United Soccer Coaches and 13th by D3soccer.com. 

Lesley 1, Judges 0

On Oct. 2, the Judges played Lesley University at home. This game resulted in the first loss of the Judges’ season. After the game, the Judges fell to 8-1 and Lesley improved to 7-3. In its previous eight meetings with Lesley University, Brandeis was 7-0-1. Neither team scored in the first half of the game. In this half, Brandeis out-shot Lesley with an impressive 10-5 margin. Starting in the second half of the game, Lesley University senior Jordan Mitchell scored the first and only goal of this game, which took place in the 51st minute of play. Dipping just under the crossbar, her shot was slightly out of reach of Sierra Dana ’20. Following the goal, the Judges earned three corner kicks in five minutes. However, none of these were able to break through the defense. The Lesley goalkeeper Brittany Gaan stopped every attempt by the Judges to score a goal. In the end, Brandeis finished with a 20-11 edge in shots, including 8-5 in shots on goal. Although resulting in a loss, the Judges look forward to the next game to get back on their feet. 

Carnegie Mellon 0, Judges 2

This past Saturday, the Judges faced Carnegie Mellon University at Carnegie Mellon. After their first defeat against Lesley University, the Judges punched back, resulting in an impressive win and improving the Judes to a 9-1 overall record, according to D3soccer.com. Due to lightning, the game started two hours late. However once the game began, neither team scored in the first half of the game. After 52 minutes of play, Daria Bakhtiari ’21 scored past Carnegie Mellon University’s goalie Carolyn Botz. With about 10 minutes left in the game, Katie Hayes ’22 doubled the team’s  lead. During the game, Dana made three saves for her second solo shutout of the season. With this win, Brandeis defeated its third ranked opponent, after Massachusetts Institute of Technology (14th) and Tufts University (23rd).

Coming up, the Judges go head to head with the University of Rochester Yellowjackets on Friday, followed by Emory University on Sunday. 

Overall, the Judges 9-1 record is absolutely a team effort and credit should be given to all the players and coaches alike for this dominant start to their season. But the team has had a few top performers that have stood out and made an extra difference in key moments of the season. Hayes is the team's leading goal scorer with five goals in the first 10 games of the season. She is followed closely behind by fellow midfielder Bakhiari, with a respectable four. Following them are senior forwards Julia Matson and Sam Volpe, with two goals apiece. 

Starting goalkeeper Sierra Dana '20 has been an absolute rock in goal. She has started all ten games of the season and has only allowed three goals. She holds an 8-1 record, including two shutout wins. Dana also has 23 saves and a stout .885 save percentage up to this point. Her goalkeeping, combined with the strong defense of Amanda Fernbach ’20, Hannah Maatallah ’19, and Emily Theim ’19, has been a major reason for the Judges success thus far.