It took 95 minutes, but Alec Spivack ’16 scored a howler off of a free kick to propel the Brandeis Judges (12-2-1, 2-2 UAA) to a 1-0 win in extra time on Sunday against the No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis Bears (12-2, 3-1 UAA).  Spivack’s goal came at a crucial time, as the Judges had dropped a game to the unranked University of Chicago earlier in the weekend, but this win was important in keeping pace both in the UAA and in the national rankings.  

When asked about the goal, Spivack emphasized practice and visualization in securing the win. 

“Holly (Szafran ’16) and I have worked on free kicks outside of practice time, but you don't always get the perfect spot for a free kick. Yesterday, however, I was feeling it, and I had visualized the night before the game scoring an almost identical free kick. When we had the opportunity I just visualized myself scoring it, and then kicked the ball.” she said. 

As for the feeling of beating Wash U, Spivack added, “I am so pumped to  have beaten WashU in back-to-back years. As weird as it sounds, I wasn't nervous; I didn't really think of anything other than kicking the ball. The only option at the time was to make the free kick, and I saw it in my mind so my body executed.” In general, when asked about the morale of the team heading into a tough stretch of UAA games, the longtime captain added, “The UAA has 5 out of the 8 teams in the Top 25 in the nation, so every single game in the UAA is extremely tough. The other teams are receiving votes to break in the Top 25, so we have to show up to every game ready to go from kick off.”

This was an especially meaningful moment for Spivack as it came on the tail end of homecoming weekend.  Spivack mentioned that her “parents and grandparents were at the game, and I wanted to play hard for them, and I was really hoping to score for them.”  

It was the perfect way to cap off a homecoming weekend that the teams enjoyed.

“Everyone was really pumped to see the alums. “ said Spivack. 

“It's an amazing experience knowing that your former teammates are coming to support you. I'm thankful that Brandeis has ramped up Homecoming weekend the past couple of years.”

Up until the free kick, the game had been a defensive lockdown in the midfield as both teams struggled to create meaningful opportunities on the offensive end. 

The best opportunity came in the 72nd minute for the Judges as a header from forward Cidney Moscovitch ’17 was cleared off the line by defender Sam Ezratty ’16. Otherwise, despite a good pace, the defensive lines for each team were solid, with Brandeis’s featured backs particularly shining under pressure from junior Wash U forward Olivia Lillegraven, last week’s UAA player of the week. Goalkeeper Alexis Grossman ’17 also contributed three saves to the winning effort, with an especially important diving stop towards the end of regulation. 

This win came on the heels of a loss to the University of Chicago Maroons on Friday night by a score of 1-0. Chicago junior Sophia Kim  volleyed a cross to the far post for the only goal of the game in the 43rd minute and, to boot, it was against the run of play, but that’s all it took for Chicago on Friday. 

Spivack framed Sunday’s win in the context of the loss, stating,   “Our loss against Chicago definitely hurt, but after the game we all knew that we needed to move on and get focused for Sunday's game. The loss fired us up, and we knew this was an absolute must-win.”

The Judges will take on regional competitor Westfield State at home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. 

With only four contests left for the Judges to prove their worth, the team will need to stay focused.

The team looks to return to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National Tournament for the second-straight season after losing in the second round last season.

After the match against Westfield, the squad will face tough competition when they face UAA foes, Emory University, the University of Rochester and New York University.

The team in particular will look to avenge last season's crushing 2-0 loss at Rochester.