The women’s soccer team, ranked number 25 in Division III by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, won both of its first two games of the season last week. The Judges defeated Lassell College 2-1 on Friday after winning their season opener against Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4-1.

No. 25 Judges 2 Lasell 1

In Friday’s game, the Judges improved to 9-1 all time against their regional rivals Lassell. 

Brandeis took a 2-1 lead in the 79th minute on a goal by forward Lea McDaniel ’17, just seconds after Lassell junior forward Megan Cullen had tied the game. 

The Judges took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute when midfielder Alec Spivack ’15 scored her first goal of the season on a shot inside the box. 

It was just Spivack’s second game back since missing the final 14 games last season with an injury.

About the goal Spivack commented that “the keeper was coming out, so I took a touch with my left around her, and then I finished it, side-netting with my left.  It was the epitome of a goal due to a full team effort.”

On her return from injury and the season's prospects, Spivack noted that “words can't describe how excited I am to be back playing for Brandeis with my teammates. This team is definitely something special. We have an incredibly deep bench this season. All I want this year is to have fun and play beautiful soccer and so far we've been able to do both.”

The Lasers notched an equalizer in the 78th minute when Lassell senior midfielder Bridget Munnelly sent a cross to Cullen who put the ball in the net. 

The Judges were evidently not fazed by the goal, and a cross from forward Cidney Moscovitch ’17 set up the game-winning goal by McDaniel.

For the game, Brandeis outshot Lassell 16-8 and had 12 shots on goal, compared to just three for Lassell. 

No. 25 Judges 4 MIT 1

In Tuesday’s season opener against MIT, the Judges scored four goals in just over 10 minutes to win 4-1. 

After a scoreless first half, MIT took a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute. Defender Hannah Maatallah ’19 tied the game just under four minutes later on a pass from Moscovitch, which started the scoring spree for Brandeis. Forward Samantha Schwartz ’18, McDaniel and midfielder Holly Szafran ’16 all scored in the next 10 minutes to give the Judges a 4-1 advantage.

It was Schwartz’s sixth career game-winning goal after she tallied five game-winning goals last season as a freshman. 

Brandeis outshot MIT 24-8 in the game and had 15 shots on goal, while MIT had just two.  

Last season, Brandeis lost their season opener to MIT 1-0, the team’s only non-conference loss of the regular season. 

That made this win all that much sweeter, according to Szafran, though she noted in an email to the Justice that the team does have some areas in which it can improve. 

“MIT is always a tough season opener for us, so we knew all preseason we had to prepare for that game. Coming off of that game with a 4-1 win was a huge accomplishment to get our season going,” she said. “From there we have some fundamentals to work on, but we started on a strong note so we have to keep it that way and continue to focus on the little things that matter the most.”

Although Brandeis has three games this week, Szafran said her confidence in the team is high because all of them are at home. “With three home games this week, we are looking forward for the home field advantage and our school's support, as these games mean a lot for ranking in our region,” Szafran said.

Brandeis’ next game is their home opener this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against  Bridgewater State University.

Their next four contests will all take place on Gordon Field, the home of the  Judges.

The competitions will be particularly important for the team as they look ahead to a difficult conference schedule in the coming months.