The women’s soccer team ended its season on Saturday after a 1-0 loss to No. 3 William Smith College in overtime. The Judges made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament and closed their season with an overall record of 15-3-4.  

No. 3 William Smith 1, No. 11 Judges 0

The game, hosted by William Smith, was a nail-biter that featured great defense from both sides. 

The squad’s best opportunity came early in the contest when forward Lea McDaniel ’17 had a breakaway with only the goalkeeper between her and the goal. 

Freshman goalie Veronica Romines was able to stop McDaniel’s shot and keep the game deadlocked at zero for the contest. 

Other chances for the team included a rocket off the foot of forward Samantha Schwartz ’18 that was blocked by a defender and a rebound attempt that narrowly passed out of McDaniel’s reach. 

William Smith had more opportunities to convert than the Judges had, as they had eight corners to Brandeis’s two. The Herons had 18 shot attempts versus the Judges’ 11. 

Defender Hannah Maatallah ’19 commented on the team’s performance and season on Saturday, saying, “The team feels that we had an awesome season that we are very proud of.  Although it ended sooner than we would have liked, we worked really hard all season, played a great final game against a very good team and left it all on the field.  Now, I think we are looking forward to improving upon this amazing season with an even better one next year.”

Goalkeeper Alexis Grossman ’18 was able to fend off William Smith’s attack during regulation to add to her impressive season. 

Grossman recorded 11 shutouts, which is a team record, and a 0.39 goals-against average for the 2015 campaign for the Judges. 

The one shot that Grossman was not able to block came two minutes and 26 seconds into the opening overtime period. 

Junior midfielder Ella McMackin put the ball upfield off of a throw-in that was able to be controlled by senior midfielder Krista Longo. 

Longo pushed the ball to junior forward Kara Shue who then hit the back of the net with her eighth goal of the season. 

The Judges finished off a strong season, in which they made the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. 

The graduating seniors finish their careers with three NCAA tournament appearances and a record of 54-19-11. 

The team will lose key players to graduation this spring in midfielder Holly Szafran ’16 and midfielder Alec Spivack ’16. 

Maatallah noted, “We are going to miss the graduating seniors greatly next year both on and off the field.  They are a great group who have had amazing careers over the last four years.  They are definitely going to be very hard to replace, but next year will be an opportunity for new people who didn’t get as many minutes this season and incoming freshman to step up and fill those roles.”

Next season should be a bright one for the squad, as they return most of the core that netted them an impressive Sweet 16 appearance. 

The season was a marked success in which the squad improved upon its 2014 record of 13-5-2. 

The 2015 season was head coach Denise Dallamora’s 36th at the helm.