Despite pulling ahead early in the second half, the men's soccer team dropped a tough double-overtime 2-1 decision to Babson College last Saturday.

After a scoreless first half, midfielder Joe Eisenbies '13 broke the deadlock with a thunderous header 7 minutes past the interval. Though the strike looked like it may set the Judges on the road to victory, Babson junior forward and All-American Erik Anderson notched a 73rd-minute equalizer before ending the contest in the second extra session to give the Beavers, now 5-2-1, a vital victory.

"We gave away two fouls, and their guy had two headers," lamented Brandeis coach Mike Coven. "[Anderson] is a great player. They're a big rival, so it was disappointing to lose."

Brandeis, now 4-2-0, had dispatched the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last Monday night by a score of 2-0, extending their unbeaten home streak to three games.

After defeating MIT, the Judges looked to keep flying high last Saturday afternoon, as the Judges traveled the short 6.5 miles to Hartwell-Rogers Field. The visitors ended any chance of a scoreless draw in the 52nd minute, as midfielder Theo Terris '12 sent a ball into the box from a short corner, where Eisenbies nodded home for a 1-0 Brandeis advantage.

Despite playing "some of the best soccer a Brandeis team has ever played," according to Coven, for the first 60 minutes, the Judges soon found themselves on the back foot. A long service from Babson senior midfielder Salomon Guindi found the head of Anderson, who made no mistake in knotting things up with 17 minutes to play.

Both sides had chances to emerge victorious in regulation. First, forward Sam Ocel '13 had a headed bid saved by Babson senior goalkeeper Peter Crowley at his near post. Minutes later, Beavers senior forward Ayo Iwuagwu sent a headed effort from a corner just over the bar, sending the game to overtime.

Although the first sudden-death session did not result in a winner, the second session featured the killer blow from the home side. Having received a throw-in near the center circle, senior midfielder Max Walker knocked a long ball towards the Judges' box, where the omnipresent Anderson out-jumped charging keeper Blake Minchoff '13 to bury his second header of the match and send the home crowd into raptures as a result of the sudden victory.

In the first encounter of the week, the hosts grabbed an early lead as forward Lee Russo '13 headed a cross from Ocel past Engineers senior goalkeeper Dylan Rankin with 15 minutes gone. Though Brandeis dominated possession following the goal, Rankin stonewalled Russo twice and defender Tyler Savonen '15 to keep the difference at one goal going into the half.

Following the intermission, MIT almost grabbed the equalizer in the 57th minute. Senior forward Zach Kabelac unleashed a rocket that Minchoff did well to keep out. The ball trickled free to the back post, leaving sophomore midfielder Jonathan Tebes with an open net. However, Minchoff made a fantastic save, hurling himself across the face of goal to keep the Engineers off the board.

With the match was very much in the balance, Russo gave the Judges some breathing room just before the final whistle. After Minchoff came up the pitch to knock a bouncing ball out of play, the Judges quickly took the resulting throw-in. The ball fell to Russo, who had a crack from a full 50 yards that found its way over the goalkeeper before bouncing into the net with 1.7 seconds left.

Despite losing to Babson in such a bitter fashion after the win against MIT, both Eisenbies and Coven remained optimistic about the team's chances.

"We are looking good right now," Eisenbies said. "We are playing well and with three games this week, we can get back on track and open up our [University Athletic Association] schedule on Saturday against [the University of] Rochester at home."

"We've got Rochester on Saturday, which will be a big game," added Coven. "We beat them at their place last year in a crazy game. They're a good team. It'll be a good test."

While the conference games have not yet been played, it is safe to say that only a small bite of the team's potential has been shown.

The team plays Wentworth Institute of Technology at home tonight at 7 p.m. The Judges will then travel to Colby-Sawyer College Wednesday at 4 p.m. before taking on Rochester at home.