The Brandeis women’s soccer team has started their season strong with five wins, two losses and two ties overall rounding out their nine games this season. As of Sept. 28, Brandeis was ranked #22 nationally for the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 DIII programs. 

On the other hand, the men’s soccer team have come back from a 1-4-1 record, with the Judges winning two back to back home games to improve their record and a tie away at Carnegie Mellon University. This week, the women defeated Lesley University and fell to Carnegie Mellon on Sept. 28 and Oct. 2, respectively. 

The men, on the other hand, defeated Clark University and tied Carnegie Mellon University on Sept. 29 and Oct. 2, respectively. During the previous week of Sept. 20, goalies Hannah Bassan ’25 and Aiden Guthro ’23 won University Athletic Association Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week, with Guthro being honored for the second time.

Women’s Soccer

Lesley 1, Judges 2

The Judges hosted Lesley University for a non-conference game contest at Gordon Field. By halftime both teams had remained 0—0 while the Judges had outshot their opponents, the Lesley Lynxes, 5—0. 

In the second half, the Judges’ Daria Bakhtiari ’22 broke through in the 58th minute. Bakhtiari had received the ball after the Judges’ forward Juliette Carreiro ’22 sent the ball forward and past Lesley’s goalkeeper, where Bakhtiari was able to secure the goal for the Judges. This was Bakhtiari’s third goal of the season and Carreiro’s fifth assist of the season. 

Later in the second half, Lauren Mastandrea ’22 made the assist and Bakhtiari again scored the goal, making this her first multi-goal game of the season. 

In total, the Judges outshot the Lynxes 16—5 while goalie Bassan made one save, securing the victory for the team. On the other side, Lesley’s goalie made seven saves during the game. The Judges also had five fouls, four corner kicks and zero off-sides, while the Lynxes  had four fouls, three corner kicks and zero off-sides. This game caused the  Judges to improve to a record of 5-1-2 and the Lesley Lynxes to fall to 6-3-1.

Carnegie Mellon 3, Judges 0

The Judges traveled to Pittsburgh for their first UAA conference game against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, ranked #17. Again, by halftime both teams had remained 0—0, but Judges goalie Bassan had made two saves while the Carnegie Mellon Tartans outshot the Judges 3—2. The closest the Judges came to a goal in the first half was a free kick by Caroline Swan ’23, which hit the crossbar.

In the second half, the Tartans applied pressure, outshooting the Judges 7—0. In the 61st minute, the Tartans scored their first goal of the game, followed by their second goal in the 84th minute and their third in the 85th minute. This puts the Judges to 0-1-0 in the UAA conference and the Tartans, 1—0.

Men’s Soccer

Clark 2, Judges 1

Early in the first half against Clark University of Worcester, the Judges’ John Loo ’25 scored the first goal of the game with an assist by teammate Max Horowitz ’24. This assist marked Horowitz fourth in the last two games. Later in the half, Clark caught up, making the score 1—1, a score which persisted to halftime. 

Early in the second half, the Judges’ Andres Gonzalez ’25 hit the post below the crossbar from a free kick. The ball approached Judges midfielder Michael Burch ’22, who made it towards the goal. The Judges rose above the Clark Cougars when Evan Glass ’22 punched it home off a header from Burch. This goal was Glass’ first career goal and the goal needed for the Judges to win the game. 

The victory was secured when the Judges’ Guthro made a save in the 56th minute. This was in addition to the stop he made in the first half, in the 39th minute. This game led the Judges to rise to 3-4-1 and Clark to fall to 5-5-1, continuing their now three-game losing streak.

Carnegie Mellon 1, Judges 1

The Judges also traveled to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg to play their UAA opener against the Tartans. In the first half, the Tartans outshot the Judges 4—2. No goals were scored in the first half but both the Judges and the Tartans scored within five minutes of each other in the second half. 

At the 50th minute, the Titans scored in the upper left-hand corner of the net coming from the right side of the field. In the 54th minute, Brandeis’ Gonzalez made his first collegiate goal about 20 feet out. Gonzalez took a free kick which went past the defensive Tartans and into the goal on the right hand side. For the remaining time, the teams went back and forth but no further goals were scored.

Upcoming

This coming week, the men are scheduled to face the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a non-conference game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. On Saturday, both the men’s and women’s teams are scheduled to play Case Western Reserve University for the UAA conference games and Homecoming weekend, at 1:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively.