The Brandeis women's soccer team (13-2-2 overall, 3-1-2 UAA) bolstered its standing in both New England and the UAA this week, earning a pair of wins against Plymouth State College and Emory University, while battling to a scoreless tie with Carnegie Melon University.
On Tuesday, the Judges routed Plymouth State College in Plymouth, New Hampshire by a score of 4-0. Jillian Peo '06 scored a pair of goals in the 21st and 44th minutes, leading the Judges to an impressive non-conference victory. Peo scored both of her goals in the first half of play.
Melissa Delowe '04 also scored for the Judges with her team-best fifteenth goal of the season, converting less than fourteen minutes into the game. That goal matched the Judges' individual single-season scoring record. Lauren Gregor '05 finished the scoring with a second half goal at the 72:34 mark, with Delowe chipping in with the assist. Brandeis doubled Plymouth State University 10-5 in shots on goal.
Keeper Natasha Pieciak '06 took care of the goal tending for the afternoon as she stopped all five Panther shots to record her fifth shutout of the season. With the win, the Judges matched the 1991 Brandeis squad for the second-highest single-season win total in school history. Only the 1990 squad, which recorded 16 wins, had more.
Everything was working against Emory," Peo said "It was deffinitely won of the best games we have played this season."
On Friday, the women's soccer team defeated UAA rival Emory University in Atlanta by a score of 2-0. The Judges defeated Emory for the first time since 1995.
Brandeis, ranked ninth in the NSCAA, got on the board early as midfielder Jessica Druckan '06 scored her third goal of the season only 1:33 into the game, providing the Judges with a 1-0 lead. Forward Lisa Kaplin '07 scored her fourth goal of the season in the 84th minute to give Brandeis some insurance, while Gregor picked up the assist. This goal made Brandeis only the second team to score more than one goal against the Eagles this season.
The Judges closed out their strong week on Sunday with a 0-0 tie in double-overtime at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
While Carnegie Mellon (10-1-4 overall, 3-1-2 UAA) is a strong team, the Judges believe they could have won the game if they had not played two games in three days with a travel day inbetween.
With many starters leaving the game early due to injury, the Judges were unable to score. Pieciak played an outstanding game to record her ninth shutout of the season.
"Tasha made so many saves for us. She played awesome," Peo said.
"The whole team was really, really tired," Peo said. "It was a hard game for the team in general. If we had been more rested, we would have played better," she said.
Brandeis plays its final game of the season on Saturday at home against New York University (6-10 overall, 0-6 UAA). The Violets beat the Judges 1-0 last season, and that combined with the fact that Brandeis needs this win to make the playoffs should give the Judges plenty of incentive.
"[NYU] is deffinitely good. It should be a hard game," Peo said.
NYU is led by coach Amanda Vandervort who is in her first season with the Violets. This is her first coaching job after graduating from the University of Wyoming in 2001. "
At Division-I Wyoming Vandervort was a four-year scholarship goalie where she set a team record for saves with 393.
On offense the Violets are led by Captains Mollie Bruhn and Jennifer Farkas, both seniors. Farkas is the team leader with five assists. The scoring leader is senior Lauren Henkel who has five goals.
The defense is anchored by sophomore keeper Alison Meyers who has 39 saves in 12 games. The Violets have also gotten significant contributions from their back-up goalie, freshman Satcy Tarver, who has an impressive 29 saves in six games.