The men's soccer team emerged from offensive hibernation Friday night on Gordon Field, pulverizing the overmatched Albertus Magnus College Falcons in a 6-0 shutout. The Judges, who had been plagued by missed scoring opportunities since their season-opener, outshot the Falcons 32-5 and had five different players find the back of the net. The team now stands at 2-2-2 on the season lost, having 4-2 to Worcester Polytechnic Institute Wednesday. The Judges came out firing against the Falcons and never looked back. In just the fourth minute of play, after Falcons rookie goalkeeper Gerald O'Connor accidentally touched the ball outside the box, Brandeis rookie Billy Murphy '10 hammered the free kick into the defensive wall, deflecting the ball into the top right of the net.

Murphy, who scored his first collegiate goal against WPI Wednesday, also gave a physical presence in the box on defense.

"I win balls in the air and create space for my teammates," Murphy said.

"I'm not afraid to use my body and I make it difficult to play against us."

Also breaking out of his slump was Ben Premo '09, who scored two goals and added two assists. Premo, who hadn't scored since the team's opener, played right midfielder instead of attacker, allowing him to create more opportunities for himself and for his teammates.

"[The move] frees him up a bit," coach Mike Coven said.

"When he's playing in the box he's going to have two or three guys draped over him, and it's very difficult for him to do anything. [Now] he's got a lot more space to do certain things."

Nine minutes into the match, Premo sent a cross from the left side of the field to Jordan Skolnick '07 in the box, who headed the ball into the back of the net.

In the 55th minute, Premo passed the ball to Alex Mithoefer '09, who took a few touches before sending the ball to the bottom left corner of the goal for his first collegiate score.

Though the Judges dominated the game on both ends of the field, they did so against an inferior opponent, making Coven wary to praise his team.

"[We] played very well, but it was easy to play well against this type of competition," he said.

Coven said he viewed the game more as an opportunity for the Judges to find their rhythm. The team's rookies also got valuable playing time in the blowout.

"It was a great game to improve on the things we haven't been doing particularly well," he said. "A lot of my [first-years] played more than half the game. It gave me the opportunity to get them some playing time and experience."

Before their offensive breakthrough Friday, the Judges' offense first started showing signs of life on Wednesday at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where they notched more than one goal for the first time since the season-opener, despite a 4-2 loss.

Coven blamed a lack of aggressiveness, careless control of the ball and bad passing for Wednesday's loss. However, he said the Albertus Magnus victory improved on those shortcomings and was a step in the right direction for a team that is still trying to gel.

"It takes a couple games for us to put the pieces together, but it's starting to come together now," Coven said. "Hopefully this win is a turning point."

Now six games into the season, players say they have a sense of urgency to finally put the pieces together and play consistent soccer.

"We've got to really start buckling down and winning games or we'll be in trouble," Murphy said.

The Judges play next at nationally ranked Wheaton College Wednesday at 4 p.m. Though the Judges will be the underdog, players don't think a victory is out of the question.

"I think we can beat anyone," Premo said.