A fluke. It could be described as a stroke of good luck, a chance occurrence or how the Judges lost 2-0 to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Sunday. Coming off a win over 19th ranked Emory University on Friday and with their postseason life on the line, the Judges entered the game with much at stake. But an incredible free kick in the second half took the wind out of the Judges as they lost 2-0 to the visiting Tartans. The Judges fell to 8-10 for the season, losing grasp of a winning season.The game ended with a sigh. With more than half the Judges pushed up in a last-ditch effort to get a point on the board, Carnegie Mellon scored an easy goal over the head of goalkeeper Jake Knoll '08 in the last 11 seconds. Knoll moved up out of the net to block any Tartan penetration, but had the ball knocked over his head and into the net for the second and last goal of the game.

But it was not this goal that shook the morale of the Judges and turned the tide of the previously scoreless game; it was the first goal of the game, one easily branded as a fluke. Tartan junior midfielder Dan Mastalski launched a free kick from beyond midfield toward the goal about 60 minutes into the game. It cleared the head of several players, spun through the air toward the top of the net and just slipped through the extended fingers of Knoll, putting the advantage in Carnegie Mellon's corner. Knoll had four saves.

"It was just a mistake," Coach Mike Coven said. "But people make mistakes. Every field player out there must make three, four, five mistakes, but you don't really notice it. When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it's glaring. It was unfortunate."

"It was just lack of focus," Knoll said.

"These guys are good in the air," Joe Jorge '05 said. "They just got to knock it out. The offense anticipated it had to play real hard."

The loss to Carnegie Mellon came off of an impressive victory over visiting 19th ranked Emory University on Friday, 3-2. Emory scored on a penalty kick three minutes before the game's end, but was unable to come through and score the equalizing point to send the game into overtime. Evan Duval '08 scored the game-winning goal one-on-one against the Emory Eagles goalie 74 minutes in. Brandeis' first two goals were scored by Adam Gutman '08, with the help of Charles Goodhue '06, Yuval Ezer '07 and Duval.

It was Knoll's first appearance in almost a month. The promising rookie goalie had been sidelined since early October with a high ankle sprain, but came back in the second half of Friday's game. Knoll allowed two goals against Emory, but had seven saves to hold off the Eagles while facing an intimidating 14 shots. Matt Kaplan '05 had shutout the Tartans in the first half, but faced only one shot.

"It felt good coming back after seven games," Knoll said. "It was something I was craving."

"We came out and played well," Scott Zacharoff '07 said. "We had a let down in the second half. Unfortunately, [Knoll] had to take the brunt of our lapses. He's a great player and he knows how to save shots."

"We really followed the game plan against Emory," Coven said. "It was a huge game."

Although the loss to Carnegie Mellon squashed the Judge's post-season prospects, the future looks bright. New blood pumps through the team's veins assuring a spirited and well-formed team for next year with only five seniors graduating. It was the last home game for those seniors, including captains Jorge and Mike Pio.

"It's been a good four years," Pio said. "We didn't win much but I love the guys here. We're like a family and it's going to be tough to leave."

"We're losing some seniors that have been very strong, but we got a great nucleus of kids coming back," Coven said. "We should be fine."

"The future is extremely bright," Zacharoff said. "We are returning kids who have a tremendous amount of experience under their belt. This year was a disappointment but I think next year our goals should be set even higher. Speaking on behalf of the team, thank you to the seniors for everything they've done on and off the field"

The Judges play their final game of the season on the road against New York University on Saturday.