The women's soccer team entered Saturday's game at Case Western Reserve University on its first losing streak of the season, but the hostile crowd couldn't stop the Judges from snapping their skid. Led by goals from midfielder Lizzie Bremner '08 and forward Melissa Gorenkoff '10, the Judges dominated the first half and were able to hold off the Spartans 2-0. The victory followed a tight 4-3 loss to No. 17 Tufts University Wednesday and moved the team's record 7-3-1 on the season and 1-1 in University Athletic Association play.

"It was important to us to get a UAA win and send a message to the rest of the conference that we're competitive," Bremner said. "I don't think we let [the Case Western fans] get to us at all, and it kind of gave us more motivation to put the work in to beat them."

A strong defensive effort fueled the Judges' victory, as they matched a season-low by allowing just three shots by the Spartans in the entire game. The Judges previously relinquished just three shots in a 3-0 shutout victory over Wellesley College Sept. 18. Coach Denise Dallamora maintained, however, that the defense has room to improve.

"[The defenders] are starting to gel, but they still get a little unbalanced sometimes when we're dominating," she said. "[Case Western] actually had a couple breakaways that [defender] Abby Shields '10 did a great job of stepping back and breaking up."

The Judges took a 1-0 lead on Bremner's penalty kick in the 25th minute. The Spartans were called for handballing Bremner's corner kick in the goalie box, giving Brandeis the penalty shot. Bremer's attempt was nearly saved by Case Western junior goalie Kirsten McClain, but she was unable to hold onto the shot after a diving reaction to it.

"While it wasn't the best placement that I could have done, it went in," Bremner said. "For me being a senior and a player of experience on the team, I don't let the pressure of [penalty kicks] get to me. With that in mind, I feel like I was pretty levelheaded in taking [the shot]."

Brandeis continued its offensive control in the second half, outshooting the Spartans 5-0 over the first 21 minutes of the game. Dallamora said the Judges should have taken the lead in the 53rd minute, claiming that McClain saved a Gorenkoff shot behind the goal line.

"[That] was a goal that the official wasn't in position to see," Dallamora said.

Instead, Brandeis maintained its 1-0 lead and nearly blew it late in the second half. The Spartans cleared the ball out of their zone and caught the Judges' defense in a breakaway situation, but a pass to a wide-open player in front of the net was delivered too far in front of the target.

The Judges caught a break there, but players know they must avoid those mistakes in the future.

"We just have to take this mindset that we can't just have letdowns when we score a goal," Shields said. "We can't score a goal and then breathe some sigh of relief and be like 'Alright, we're set, we just scored two goals.' Sometimes, we just think we can take a break when we really can't."

Brandeis added some insurance in the final minute on a breakaway goal from Gorenkoff, her team-leading sixth score of the season.

The Judges' defense wasn't as proficient in Wednesday's loss to Tufts, as the Jumbos attempted a staggering 24 shots during a wild game and won on their final attempt.

Senior midfielder Martha Furtek scored with just over one minute to play in regulation to give Tufts the victory.

The Judges' loss spoiled an incredible performance from forward Tzlil Castel '08, who scored all three of Brandeis' goals in a six-and-a-half minute span during the first half. With the Jumbos leading 2-0, Castel tied the game with rebound goals in the 17th and 21st minutes, then headed in forward Tiffany Pacheco's '11 crossing pass two minutes later to give Brandeis a 3-2 lead. Tufts tied the game in the 32nd minute on its way to the win.

The Judges will host UAA foes this weekend, with games against the University of Chicago Friday at 7:30 p.m. and No. 4 Washington University in St. Louis Sunday at 1:30 p.m.