The men’s soccer team rebounded from their first University Athletic Association loss on Oct. 11 in a big way this past weekend with a pair of 1-0 wins over conference opponents on Gordon Field.

The seventh-ranked Judges welcomed Carnegie Mellon University on Friday afternoon, using a golden goal from forward Zach Vieria ’17 to grab a win and dispatched No. 9 Emory University on Sunday afternoon on the strength of a goal from the penalty spot by forward Tyler Savonen ’15. 

After dropping their first game of the year across any competition, the Judges immediately returned to their winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Massachusetts Maritime College last Tuesday, setting the stage for their UAA games this past weekend.

The squad saw their record improve to 14-1 overall and 3-1 in UAA play with the pair of victories. 

Sunday’s tilt against Emory nearly got off to a perfect start when forward Evan Jastremski ’17 got the ball in from the right flank to Vieira under a minute into the contest. 

Vieira managed to gain some space and ripped off a shot, but it went just wide and the two teams settled in to trade four shots apiece over the game’s first half.

Neither side was able to assert much dominance over the first half, trading fouls and free kicks in the midfield and producing shots that sailed high above the crossbar or far wide of a post.

The two teams wasted no time attacking the net when play resumed in the second half as each was denied a scoring opportunity in the half’s first two minutes. Emory opened the half with a hard shot that got beyond the reach of goalkeeper Joe Graffy ’15 but not far enough away from defenseman Conor Lanahan ’16, who cleared the ball off the line and preserved the scoreless tie.

The Judges followed suit in the 48th minute, when midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 took a low shot that was blocked by the Emory defense and rolled out for a corner kick.

Brandeis would make the Eagles pay on the ensuing corner when Savonen was dragged down just inside the 18-yard box and converted his penalty shot to give the squad a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.

“I’ve never played with a forward who has as much passion and love for a team, especially for this team,” said midfielder Brandon Miskin '18. “He always keeps the team positive. He always holds the ball up for us well so the midfielders can get the ball and he never stops. He never gets subbed out; he’s a workhorse [for the team].”

The Judges controlled most of the play after Savonen’s goal allowing Emory just two more shots on the day, but neither tested Graffy and the two shots were separated by 15 minutes of play.

On Friday evening, the Judges waited until the last-possible moment to grab a win over the visiting Tartans. 

After a relatively quiet first half during which the two teams combined for just a pair of shots, both by Brandeis during a three-minute stretch, the game opened up after the halftime break. 

Carnegie outshot the Judges 6-4 in the half, forcing Graffy to save a bouncing shot just before the hour mark and pushing a free kick high over the bar as regulation time expired. Neither side was able to establish dominance over the game during the two overtime periods until Vieria sent the Judges home with the win.

Faced with just 3:45 left in the second overtime period and staring at the possibility of having to settle for a draw, Vieria took a pass from midfielder Patrick Flahive ’18 near the top of the Carnegie box. 

Vieria settled the ball, got around his defender and blasted a shot past the Carnegie goalkeeper into the bottom-right corner of the net for the game-winner.

The goal was Vieria’s sixth of the season and his third game winner, both second most on the team.

Graffy made four saves in the contest, including two during a frantic scramble in front of the net at the end of the first overtime period, for the win. The Judges’ defense is now tied for second in Division III, allowing just .30 goals per game.

“I think our defense has been unbelievable,” said Miskin. 

“It starts with [defenseman] Connor [Lanahan ’16] at center back and [defenseman] Kyle Robinson [’17] stepped in and played unreal against Emory. They have been the glue for this whole team, and it diminishes a lot of stress for the offense [so they can] put the ball in the net.”

Last Tuesday, the squad used a pair of Savonen goals to get past Mass. Maritime 3-0 in nonconference action. Savonen netted both of his goals in the first 20 minutes of the game and now has a team-leading eight goals on the year. Vieira added a 59th minute goal to seal the game for the team and the defense took over from there, not allowing a shot in the game’s second half until the 78th minute.

The Judges will return to action next Monday against Mount Ida College in their final home game of the regular season, beginning at 7 p.m.