The Brandeis men's soccer team (7-6-2 overall, 2-2 UAA) was enjoying an excellent week, before their season-best four-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday. After beating UMass-Dartmouth 4-0 on Tuesday and the University of Chicago 3-2 on Friday to extend the streak, the Judges lost a well-played 1-0 game to the Washington University Bears (7-4-3, 2-1-1 UAA) on Sunday.
Bold fall colors and a number of enthusiastic fans made it to the game against WashU on Sunday, but unfortunately for both teams the sun failed to make an appearance, and sadly for Brandeis, scoring leader Shelton Stewart '06 was unable to play due to an injury suffered during Friday's game against the University of Chicago. Under the adverse conditions of chilly weather and the absence of Stewart's considerable skills, the Judges battled the Bears but fell short 1-0.
Throughout the game, neither team clearly established control of the flow for more than a few minutes, a theme that was immediately evident. The first shot on goal, taken by the Bears, did not occur until 36:28 remained in the first half. The Judges followed up with an initial shot of their own shortly thereafter, but WashU junior goalie Colin Robinson scooped the ball off the ground to make an impressive save. The Judges would take four shots on goal in the half, while the Bears took a relatively impressive six. Both teams had several chances to score but were unable to convert.
The second half followed the same stingy pattern as the first, but the Judges gained a slight advantage on offense, taking 14 shots to the Bears' seven. Unfortunately for Brandeis, one of those seven WashU shots turned out to be the game-winning goal.
It happened on a break-away with 28:01 remaining in the game, a point when it appeared as if no one would be able to score. Just a few feet from the goal, senior midfielder Steve Bujarski passed to senior Scott Siebers who hooked a shot up and to the left, just out of the reach of Brandeis keeper Ben Doyen-Charon '04.
Despite the disappointment of the loss, Brandeis was pleased because the game showed the strength of their team, barely losing to the Bears despite having played two very strong opponents in three days and without the help of Stewart.
"We played well," head coach Mike Coven said. "We played head-to-head with one of the better teams in the country."
Wash U is a very strong team, particularly on the defensive side, a fact backed up by their six shut-outs this year. While the strength of their defense is difficult to overcome, Coven feels it could have been done.
"A little more composure in the box would have gotten us a goal," he remarked after the hard-fought loss.
In a game dictated by in climate weather, one team needed to catch some breaks, and that team was the visiting Bears.
"We played 90 minutes hard, we never gave up," Co-Captain Kevin Alvezzi said. "We had our chances to score, but they got one break, we didn't get ours. If we'd gotten it, it would have been a different scenario."
Despite the loss, the Judges feel they can build on the momentum generated by their four consecutive wins over the past two weeks.
"We'll bounce back, we'll be fine," Coven added. "We've got a good team and we're going to win a lot of games."
The Judges had their most impressive win of the season on Friday in a 3-2 victory over the University of Chicago (6-3-1 overall, 1-2 UAA), a team which, like Wash U, is nationally-ranked.
The Judges played from behind in the first half, giving up a goal in the 26th minute. In the second half, Chicago increased its lead to 2-0 with a goal off a corner kick in the 66th minute.
With little time remaining, it appeared the Brandeis cause was lost. But then, something miraculous happened. The Judges scored three goals in a span of just 16 minutes to steal the win away from the Maroons. The first goal came in the 74th minute when Alvezi took a long pass from Marco Cornelio '06 and banged it in off the crossbar. The next goal came just ten minutes later when forward Dom Martignetti '04 scored on a rebound from Stewart's missed free kick. The third and final goal came on a header by Chris Shannon '04 with 35 seconds remaining in the game.
This incredible comeback was made possible because the Judges showed the same strength against Chicago that they did against Wash U.
"We won with a lot of hustle, a lot of determination," Coven said. "This team doesn't give up, they have a lot of heart."
The Judges began what would be a challenging week with an easy win, 4-0 over UMass-Dartmouth on Tuesday. Martignetti and Stewart scored two goals each, both of which came in the second half. Stewart scored the first goal, in the 61st minute, assisted by Martignetti. The two then repeated the feat in the 68th minute. Stewart then assisted Martignetti for a goal in the 73rd minute, while Chris Manion '05 picked up the assist on Martignetti's second goal. Keeper Doyen-Charon had four saves in the game to shut out UMass-Dartmouth.
"We played two nationally-ranked teams and did well. It told us we can play with anyone," Alvezi said.