They showed flashes of brilliance, but inconsistent play ultimately doomed the women's soccer team to its second straight ECAC New England semifinal defeat. After scoring three goals in the final 20 minutes of a 3-2 overtime comeback victory in the quarterfinals against No. 5-seeded Rhode Island College Wednesday, the Judges surrendered two scores within eight minutes of one another in a 2-0 semifinal loss to top-seeded Smith College on the road Saturday. They finished the season at 10-6-3.

It was a familiar finish for the Judges, who have made the ECAC tournament each of the last three years. The team almost won in 2004, falling 4-2 at home to Western Connecticut State University in the title game, but Brandeis has never made it that far since.

Brandeis played Smith to a scoreless first half Saturday before the Pioneers broke the game open after halftime. Junior defender Janine Olthuis scored on a free kick in the 47th minute and junior defender Krista Matatt headed in a cross in the 55th minute to provide the winning margin.

"We played fantastically in the first half, but in the second half, we fell apart," defender Melissa Gordon '07 said.

The Judges missed a golden opportunity to tally the game's first score early on. Forward Lisa Kaplin '07 took the ball deep in the Pioneers' corner and crossed it to forward Sarah Jasak '08 in the box. Jasak volleyed a shot over the goalie's head, but it bounced off the crossbar and popped up into the air. Midfielder Meredith Milstein '09 got the rebound, but Smith sophomore goalie Lauren Batchel tipped her shot.

"If we put that one away, it would have been a completely different game," defender Brittany Douglass '07 said.

Gordon thought her team was in control of the game, despite the zero on the scoreboard at halftime.

"We were moving the ball really quickly and passing it around them, but we just couldn't finish," she said. "We hit everything but the goal."

The second half proved to be a different story, with the turning point coming on the Pioneers' first goal in the 47th minute. Gordon was whistled for a foul just outside the 18-yard box on the left side, and Olthuis rifled the kick past goalie Betsey Medow '08 and into the top right corner for the goal.

Eight minutes later, a defensive breakdown led to Smith's second goal. Senior midfielder Natalie Sullivan dribbled the ball down the right side and crossed it to a wide-open Matatt, who easily headed it past Medow.

"We left two girls wide open in the middle," Gordon said. "Nobody was marking them at all."

The Judges never posed a serious scoring threat after that, allowing Smith to cruise into the ECAC title game, which they won 4-0 over Springfield College Sunday.

On Wednesday, midfielder Melissa Gorenkoff's '10 overtime goal propelled the Judges over Rhode Island College and to the semifinals. Brandeis struggled early, allowing the Anchorwomen to get on board first in the fourth minute of the game when junior midfielder Brittney Godbout scored off a pass from junior forward Gina Calenda.

"Honestly, their goal worked to our advantage because we had come out so flat, and we needed to realize that we were the better team," Douglass said.

The Judges went on to pick away at the Anchorwomen's defense before finally breaking through with two late goals within 36 seconds of one other. Midfielder Amy King '08 eventually gave Brandeis the lead by knocking home a rebound off the post for her second goal of the season.

But Brandeis' lead was short-lived; Rhode Island College tied it up just eight minutes later when junior midfielder Abby Hummel capitalized on a Brandeis turnover with a long shot that slipped through Medow's fingers.

The Judges dominated overtime play and won the game on Gorenkoff's heroics in the 99th minute. Taking the ball at midfield, Gorenkoff sped by four defenders, dribbled the ball towards the right corner and ripped a shot across the field and into the top left corner of the net.

"It was a perfect shot," Douglass said. "We were all incredibly excited."

The Judges ended last season with a better record, but the postseason result was the same: An exit in the semifinals. The team will graduate four seniors who have anchored the team for years, most notably Gordon and Kaplin, the team's leading scorer for years.

"I don't want to say that my head wasn't in the game, but for the last 10 minutes [against Smith], I was definitely thinking about how my career had just ended," Kaplin said.

Despite the key losses, the Judges will return plenty of talent, including their entire midfield.

"We're losing a lot of influential seniors, but I'm confident that our bench can make up for the losses and do just as well next year," Jasak said.