It was a bittersweet end to the 2024 soccer season on Saturday, Nov. 9. The women’s team lost their seventh and final game of the season to University Athletics Association opponent New York University. Of their seven losses, six were disappointing defeats at the hands of UAA rivals. 

The men’s team prevailed against NYU in the doubleheader, however, and earned second place in the UAA. This was the Judges’ best finish since the 2019 season and their 5-2-0 conference record included the most wins against other UAA teams since 2017. 

The women started the day off on a high note as the Brandeis University Athletics Department recognized seven players who were about to lace up their cleats for their final home game: midfielder Elspeth Harker ’26, forward Dominique Paglia ’25, forward Sydney Lenhart MA’25, back Rachel Watler ’25, goaltender Hannah Bassan ’25, goaltender Rachel Ross MA’25 and forward Aki Yamaguchi ’25. 

Fittingly, it was a senior who scored the Judges’ only goal of the game to close out the season. An initial shot from Laurene Cretau ’28 was blocked before finding its way to Lenhart, who capitalized on a wide open net to score her second goal of the season in the 23rd minute. This was the 16th goal of Lenhart’s career at Brandeis. 

Although the Judges were able to protect their early lead heading into halftime, thanks to five saves from senior goalie Bassan, the second half saw the Violets find their strength. 

NYU amped up their offense: they outshot the Judges 10-5 in the first half, but opened up an even greater imbalance of control in the second, improving to outshoot Brandeis 15-2. And the Judges felt the pressure, letting in a goal in the 52nd minute as NYU’s Kelli Keady beat Ross in a one on one face off in front of the net.  

The Violets sealed their victory with another goal at 79:32 and the game ended 2-1. 

Looking back on the fall, the Judges can be diagnosed as suffering from a late season slump. They opened their 2024 campaign with their best start since 2018 and an impressive 9-1 record, earning a ranking in the United Soccer Coaches’ Division III Top 25 standings for 10 weeks in a row. They fought their way to the 20th spot after losing an admirable 1-0 game to the No. 1 team in the country, Washington University in St. Louis, on Oct. 11. 

The season also included stellar performances from individuals, notably graduate student Ross and senior Watler. Ross led the team in the net, saving a career best 11 shots on goal on Oct. 25 during Brandeis’ loss to Emory University. Watler won Defensive Player of the Week honors and Offensive Player of the Week honors — showcasing incredible range as a defensive back. 

Although graduating seven players, including Ross and Watler, the women will look to next season to redeem this season’s early success and late decline. They ended their season with a 9–7-1, 0-6-1 record. 

Following the women’s face off versus NYU at noon, the men took the field at 2:30, also honoring graduating seniors. Nine players for the men’s team played in their last home game: goaltender Quintin Wrabley ’25, back Ethan Wool-Lewis ’25, back Christian Godhino ’25, midfielder Toby Marwell ’25, forward Gabe Haithcock ’25, midfielder Yannick Rihs ’25, midfielder Rafa Pedro ’25, back Andres Gonzalez ’25 and forward Eli Mones ’25. 

The UAA title was on the line for the Judges as the final standings would materialize as the dust settled from Brandeis’ match versus NYU and another Nov. 9 match versus Emory University and the University of Rochester. 

The first half was heavily contested and neither team was able to convert as Brandeis had a 8-5 overall shooting advantage but NYU had three shots on goal to the Judges’ two. The Judges almost got a valuable opportunity when a penalty kick was awarded to Brandeis at the end of the first half, but it was ultimately reversed by the referees. 

It was in the 63rd minute that the Judges secured their victory — Rainer Osselmann-Chai ’26 placed a corner kick into the box, finding the head of Kaden Collins ’28 who sent it straight into the middle of the net. The game ended as Wrabley pulled off his fourth shutout of the season and the eighth of his career at Brandeis. 

The clash between Emory and Rochester, meanwhile, ended in a draw, which gave Emory the UAA title. Still, the day ended on a high note as Judges can be proud of their hard-fought second place finish and their 9-5-2 overall, 5-2-0 conference record. Their season included Defensive UAA Player of the Week honors for Wrabley and Offensive Player of the Week honors for Nico Benida ’26. 

Both women’s and men’s soccer teams placed 16 players each on the Fall Academic All-UAA team this fall.