As forward Tzlil Castel '08 was running back to celebrate her apparent goal late in the second half against the University of Chicago Sunday, she received some bad news: The linesman had made a late off-sides call to wipe the point away.That play was one of the few real offensive threats the Judges had mounted all game, but it was also a microcosm of their weekend, as the team mustered only four shots in a 2-0 loss to the Maroons Sunday and just three shots in a 3-0 loss to Washington University in St. Louis Friday.

Brandeis is now 8-5-3 on the season and 1-2-3 in University Athletic Association play.

"We weren't connecting or winning the 50-50 balls," coach Denise Dallamora said. "We just didn't play well."

Forward Lisa Kaplin '07 said the Judges played too defensively all weekend. It's a trend that she says began with an Oct. 7 scoreless tie against the University of Rochester, then ranked No. 9 in the country.

"We shouldn't be playing just to tie," she said. "People have been saying that the Rochester game was the best game we played all year, so now when we went against a highly ranked team like Wash U, we were hoping to tie them instead of maybe beating them."

The Judges struggled with Chicago's aggression from the start. The Maroons had eight corner kicks in the first half and got their first goal off one of them in the 23rd minute. After goalie Betsey Medow '08 made the initial save on a header, the Maroons got the rebound and shot it again. Medow saved it again, but defender Brittany Douglass '07 was inadvertently shoved into Medow, allowing Chicago junior forward Christine Farmar to easily knock the rebound into the open net.

"I didn't clear it out far enough, and then I got pushed and fell on top of Betsy, and they just tapped it into the net," Douglass said. "I'm not sure they deserved that goal."

Medow said the Judges struggled all day defending the Maroons' attack.

"They were really tenacious," she said. "They were really crashing the box and our defense just couldn't stop them."

Late in the first half, frustration set in as midfielder Lizzie Bremner '08 and backup forward Julie Vavoules '10 picked up yellow cards within 10 seconds of each other. The Judges entered the half down 1-0.

After the break, Brandeis controlled the ball more often, but mustered only two shots on goal. The Maroons added an insurance goal in the 67th minute, with Farmar tallying her second score of the game and 14th of the season off another corner kick. After Medow was forced off her line, Farmar took a pass and shot it just over defender Christine Fulton '07 and into the top of the net.

Friday's loss to Wash. U., ranked No. 7 in the country, was scripted in similar fashion, as the Bears scored two goals on set pieces to cruise to a 3-0 victory. The Bears scored their first goal on a corner kick in the ninth minute and got two second-half goals from senior midfielder Meghan Marie Fowler-Finn while cruising to their 12th consecutive victory. For the game, the Bears had as many shots go in, three, as the Judges mustered in total.

"It didn't really seem like we were working as a team that much against Wash. U.," Douglass said. "There were moments that we looked very strong, but it wasn't enough,"

After opening the UAA season with a win and three ties despite scoring troubles, the Judges finally saw their lagging offense hurt them in these two losses.

"We really need to focus on getting everyone up on offense," Kaplin said.

The Judges close their regular season at New York University Saturday at 11 a.m. A win would give them a .500 record in UAA competition. The team is still in contention for an ECAC tournament bid.