The women's soccer team hasn't always had the right recipe for scoring goals this season, but after a lineup change and a renewed focus on attacking as a team, the Judges' offense is heating up at the right time.Behind first-half goals from midfielder Melissa Gorenkoff '10 and defender Melissa Gordon '07, the Judges closed out the regular season Saturday with a 2-1 victory at New York University.

Brandeis, at 9-5-3 overall and 2-2-3 in the University Athletic Association, clinched the No. 4 seed in the ECAC New England tournament and will host No. 5 Rhode Island College Wednesday at 2 p.m.

"Overall, we played very well," coach Denise Dallamora said. "We didn't want to put ourselves on the bubble [for the ECAC tournament], where we may or may not get selected, so this win was very important."

After scoring only two goals in their previous six conference games, the Judges matched that amount in the first 37 minutes yesterday. A week after their lead scorer criticized the team for playing too defensively, the Judges outshot the Violets 24-8 and had 16 shots on goal compared to just five for NYU for the game.

Captain Brittany Douglass '07 attributed the strong offensive showing to the team's concerted effort to give the forwards more help in the attack.

"We were very focused on pushing up as a team," Douglass said. "There were no huge gaps between any of the lines, and the defense was pushing up as soon as we got the ball out."

Defender Christine Fulton '07 agreed.

"We focused more on playing to our feet today instead of trying to play balls over the top," she said. "When you do that, more people are automatically involved."

The Judges' offensive revival was evident from the start Saturday. Before the game, Dallamora inserted an extra forward into the lineup, as Tzlil Castel '08 replaced defensive midfielder Jenna Lipawsky '09.

After attempting three early shots, the Judges knocked one home in the 10th minute when Gorenkoff took the ball from about 20 yards out and rifled a shot past Violet sophomore goalie Rebekah Kramer into the top left corner of the net. It was Gorenkoff's third goal of the season and came on one of her seven shots on goal in the game.

"It was a beautiful shot," Gordon said. "The goalie didn't have a chance."

The Judges continued to pound the Violet defense, and in the 37th minute, Gordon gave the Judges a 2-0 lead with her first goal of the season. After stealing a pass at midfield, Gordon dribbled past Violet defenders and fed a pass inside the box to Lisa Kaplin '07. Kaplin's shot missed, but Gordon rebounded it and shot the ball past Kramer for the goal.

The Violets made things interesting after halftime but ultimately fell short in their comeback bid. After cutting the lead to 2-1 when sophomore forward Sarah Pillemer headed in a cross from senior midfielder Jennifer Tavares, the Violets got a free kick in the game's final minute. Freshman midfielder Lola Coker pushed the shot wide and the Judges held on for the win.

With the victory, the Judges finished their UAA campaign with a .500 record and earned one more home game for their seniors. Last season, Brandeis earned the No. 7 seed and upset No. 2-seeded Southern Maine on penalty kicks in the ECAC quarterfinals before falling to Clark University in the semifinal round. The year before, the team lost in the championship game.

Fulton hopes the team's experience in past years will prepare it to make another deep run.

"We've always been close to taking the whole tournament, so I think we'll have much more incentive to win it this time," she said.