After defeating Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in a shootout last Saturday in the rain-heavy semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England women's soccer tournament, the top-seeded Judges once again found themselves tied after two overtimes in the finals against No. 2 Keene State College. This time, the penalty kicks went the other way, leaving the Judges with a heartbreaking loss of 0-0 (4-2 PKs)."I don't think the goalkeeper [for Keene State] was that much better [than the goalie for MCLA]; we just didn't put [the balls] in the right spot," coach Denise Dallamora said of her team's performance in the shootouts.

The loss ends the Judges' season with a record of 10-6-5 and leaves them just short of their third straight ECAC title. Two seasons ago, they defeated Keene State 2-0 in the championship game of the ECACs before winning the title over University of New England 3-1 last season.

In the shootout, Owls rookie defender Mary Lake put her team ahead 3-1 on a shot into the right side of the net. Brandeis midfielder Sofia Vallone '11 gave the team hope with a slow roller into the right corner to make it 3-2, but sophomore midfielder/forward Samantha Jo Saltalamaccia hit her shot to give the Owls an insurmountable lead of 4-2 with the Judges having only one more opportunity to shoot.

For the game, the Owls had more scoring chances, outshooting the Judges 23-10, including 15-1 in the second half. Dallamora thought fatigue from Saturday's game may have been a factor in the team's early struggles, and Vallone agreed.

"I think we were so drained from the overtime and the penalty kicks and the conditions [last Saturday], it was too difficult to bounce back from that," Vallone said.

Both teams played a physical game, combining to commit 29 total fouls, 15 by Keene State and 14 by Brandeis.

"I think it definitely was one of the most physical games we played all season," Vallone said. "I think unfortunately the fouls on both teams took a little bit of the game away because we were so busy stopping and starting and having to watch our backs. ... It definitely took a little bit of the fun out of the game."

In the semifinal game last Saturday, the Judges got out to an early lead in the pouring rain against No. 4 MCLA, going up 1-0 at the half on a hard shot by Vallone assisted by forward Melissa Gorenkoff '10. However, the Trailblazers scored the next three goals, two of which were by senior forward Jess Tietgens for her 29th and 30th goals of the season.

Brandeis stormed back to tie the game off goals from midfielder Mimi Theodore '12 and Gorenkoff. After neither team could break the tie in regulation and both overtimes, the game went to a shootout, with Brandeis winning 3-1 off successful kicks from defenseman/midfielder Francesca Shin '12, forward Tiffany Pacheco '11 and defenseman Jessica Schulman '12.

The conditions were some of the worst Vallone said she had ever seen during a game.

"I don't even think the majority of our team has ever played through conditions like that," Vallone said.

"You got to the point where the ball was not moving, and your legs could barely move, and you had to kick the ball with all your might, and I think that that definitely took a toll on us physically [for Sunday]", she added.

Last Wednesday, the Judges defeated eighth-seeded Castleton State College 3-0 in the first round of the tournament.

Pacheco scored twice in the first half to give Brandeis a lead it would never relinquish. Forward Kelly Doolittle '12 added an insurance goal in the second half, and goalie Hillary Rosenzweig '10 had four saves for her 22nd career shutout.

The loss in the finals last Sunday ended the careers of the Judges' two seniors, Gorenkoff and Rosenzweig. Gorenkoff finishes her career as the Judges' all-time assists leader with 28 to go along with 24 career goals and an ECAC tournament MVP award from last season.

Rosenzweig graduates with two of the program's top goalkeeper records with 37 career wins and 23 career shutouts.

After the game, both Brandeis greats were in tears.

"They're seniors; they're going to take [the loss] really hard," Dallamora said.

The team will return the rest of its starters for next year's squad, including Pacheco and Theodore, who tied for the team lead with 24 points each.

The Judges also will retain their starters on defense, backs Schulman, Shin, Taryn Martiniello '11, Alanna Torre '12 and Allison Maresca '12, who gave up two goals or more only four times all season.

The only time the Judges gave up three goals in one game was in the ECAC semifinal game against MCLA.

Vallone looks forward to the team's chances next season.

"I'm sad to see the season over, but I'm definitely excited for next season," Vallone said.

"I think that we're going to have another great season. We're really hoping to make NCAAs, and I think the best thing our team can do is take this loss [to Keene State] and look to next year and see what we can do about it [and] see what we can change," she added.