With only 4 minutes, 42 seconds gone by in the women's soccer team's game against Nazareth College last Sunday, Judges midfielder Mimi Theodore '12 assisted on a goal that gave the team an early 1-0 lead. Early in the second half, her twin sister, midfielder Ali Theodore '12, put the Judges ahead for good.Ali Theodore scored her first goal of the season and fourth of her career just under a minute and a half into the second half to give the Judges a 2-1 lead in a game Brandeis would go on to win 3-1. The win put the Judges at 2-0 after the team opened its season with a 2-1 victory over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last Tuesday.

"Obviously I was very happy with that goal because it put us ahead and kind of got the energy going for the beginning of the second half," Mimi Theodore said of her sister's goal. "I was just glad for her because I knew how hard she was working, so it was nice to see her get the game-winning goal."

Brandeis took the early lead on a goal by forward Tiffany Pacheco '11, who tied for the team lead with eight goals last season. Mimi Theodore passed her the ball from near the end-line for the assist.

The Golden Flyers struck back later in the half. In the 39th minute, Nazareth rookie midfielder Sarah Baluta scored her first collegiate goal to tie the game at one.

The Judges had 12 shots in the first half but only scored the once. Coach Denise Dallamora said the team realized that Nazareth junior goalie Hillary Simon stood at 5 feet, 11 inches, so the Judges started to aim their shots low.

"The goalkeeper was very tall, and we were shooting high [in the first half]", Dallamora said. "She was not going to save anything low and in the corners."

The strategy paid off as the Judges scored twice in the second half for the 3-1 win. The first goal came in the 47th minute when Ali Theodore took a header from Pacheco and buried it into the net.

The third and final Judges' goal came off the head of midfielder Sofia Vallone '11. Vallone took the cross from Pacheco, who picked up her second assist of the game. Vallone's goal marked her second in two games after coming back from a fractured fibula she suffered in the third game of last season.

"We really missed her last year," Dallamora said of Vallone. "She played [at] 95 percent, so like 5 percent more to go. ... She's still got a little bit of rehab to do."

Goalie Hillary Rosenzweig '10, who started all but two games in net last year, played the entire first half and recorded one save, but Dallamora put in Jaclyn Weinstein '12 at goal for the second half. Dallamora said this decision had nothing to do with Rosenzweig's health or how she played.

"It wasn't anything that [Rosenzweig] did. She played a good first half, and [Weinstein] played a good second half," Dallamora said. "We might [do it again]. [It's] game to game, I don't want to make any decisions."

Last Tuesday night the Judges opened their season with a 2-1 victory against MIT. Vallone scored off an assist from Mimi Theodore, and midfielder Alanna Torre '12 later added the second goal. MIT scored in the 89th minute, but the Judges held on to win.

Brandeis will next play at Babson College Wednesday at 4 p.m. and at Springfield College Saturday at noon.