As classes and a new academic year began, soccer, too, was  in the air. The Brandeis men’s soccer team began their season with a split of their first two games — they won their first match on opening day against Roger Williams University, but suffered a loss that day against Washington and Lee University. The two games were hard fought and close throughout, with each game being decided by a single goal. 

In an interview with the Justice, junior Noah Gans explained, “The ultimate goal is to make it back to the NCAA tournament and compete for a national championship, but the big goals don’t matter if you don’t take care of the smaller goals. Focusing on what it takes to win the next game is the mentality of the guys.”

Judges 1, Hawks 0

The first game was held at Brandeis against the Roger WIlliams University Hawks on Aug. 30 with the lone goal being scored in the 29th minute by Brandeis’ first year Will DeNight. Brandeis’ goalkeeper Greg Irwin ’20 put on a show, making five saves and earning his seventh career shutout. During this game, the Judges outshot the Hawks 17–10, ultimately giving the Judges the win even with the Hawks’ slight 4–2 edge on corner kicks.

Judges 0, Generals 1

The second game, held at Brandeis on Aug. 31, featured another defensive heavy affair, with Brandeis outshooting, Washington and Lee 18–5, but unable to score a goal. Irwin had another solid game, but Washington and Lee midfielder Jack Parham was able to squeeze a shot by him, which proved to be the decisive blow. While defensively the squad looks to be in midseason form, the offense needs to pick up in order for Brandeis to win these close games. The team looks to rebound on Wednesday at their first away game of the season against Clark University. 

When asked about the current first years, Gans elaborated, “It’s a really good class. We have two freshman starting and they contributed with a clean sheet and a goal in the first game. A couple others will definitely contribute from the bench, and there are a few recovering from injuries, but all are good players. I’m also excited because my brother, Josh [Gans ’23] is a freshman on the team this year, and in all our years we’ve never been on the same team. Unfortunately, he is out for the season with a knee injury, but it's still good to have him around.”