Despite attempting more shots than Carnegie Mellon University during the first half of last Sunday's game, the women's soccer team trailed 1-0 at halftime and was in danger of returning home winless from its two-game University Athletic Association weekend road trip. But coach Denise Dallamora said she was not concerned."We actually were playing very well, so we weren't going to change the game plan too much," she said. "We were just going to keep doing what we were doing."

Dallamora's faith finally paid off in the 62nd minute, when midfielder Jenna Lipawsky '09 took advantage of a failed clearance by the Tartans and sent a shot into the top right corner of the goal to tie the game. The Judges eventually won 2-1 on an 85th-minute goal by forward Tzlil Castel '08, and with one game remaining, the team is now 9-6-2 on the season and 2-3-1 in UAA play following Friday's 2-1 loss to Emory University and last Tuesday's 3-1 win against Roger Williams University.

"It was nice to see the team all coming together [Sunday]," Castel said. "The team worked really hard to put the balls together and get passes together, and luckily we were behind it, and we put the ball in the back of the net."

Tartan senior forward Kasey Stever allowed Carnegie Mellon to strike first in the 40th minute. Just over two minutes later, she received a pass over the top of the defense from senior midfielder Jess Howard, split two Brandeis defenders and sliced a shot past goalie Hillary Rosenzweig '10.

After forward Melissa Gorenkoff '10 failed to find the back of the net on two shot attempts late in the first half, the Judges headed into the second half hoping to come from behind to tie the game.

That effort, however, nearly ended before it could even get going.

Howard almost added to the Tartans' lead less than 10 minutes into the half, but Rosenzweig collected her fourth of five saves to maintain the one-goal margin.

"[Rosenzweig] is incredible," Castel said. "She really did the best job I've ever seen her do, so that was awesome."

Just over seven minutes later, Lipawsky, who started in the second half after coming in as a first-half substitute, recorded her first goal since returning from a torn tendon injury Oct. 3.

"[Lipawsky] played great in the Emory game, and she just continued to play really great in the Carnegie game," Dallamora said.

Castel then sealed the win for the Judges in the 86th minute with her team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Defender Meredith Milstein '09 stole the ball in the Tartans' defensive zone and found Castel wide open on the wing. Castel sent the shot in from the center of the goalie box, scoring her fifth goal this month and second of the weekend.

"Tzlil's playing awesome," Dallamora said. "Hustling, double-teaming, getting open-defensively and offensively-she's doing a great job."

The Judges fought hard against No. 11 Emory Friday but ultimately fell short. Despite being outshot 12-2, they kept the game tied at one until the 67th minute, when they failed to clear away an Emory corner kick.

Junior forward Maya Vankineni eventually collected the ball and scored to propel the Eagles to a 2-1 win.

"[Rosenzweig] made some great saves in the Emory game, [and] she made some good saves against [Carnegie Mellon], [but] she didn't have to come up as big [against] Carnegie," Dallamora said, "[The shots] weren't as threatening, but she did still have to make some really good saves."

After falling behind 1-0 in last Tuesday's game against Roger Williams University, Brandeis staged a comeback. Midfielder Sarah Jasak '08 scored two goals for the Judges, and rookie Sofia Vallone '11 had the game-winning score in the 46th minute, giving Brandeis a 2-1 lead.

Sunday's victory over Carnegie Mellon concluded a grueling road stretch for the Judges, who have played in three different states over the last week. Jasak said the win allowed the road trip to end on a high note.

"It feels good when we travel this way to come home with a win," she said.

The Judges host UAA rival New York University Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in their last regular-season game.

It remains unclear whether the team needs a victory to ensure its place in the Eastern College Athletic?Conference tournament.