As Jacob Riis—a famous figure in American social reform—once said, a rock that shatters on a stonecutter's 101st blow is not a result of a single strike, but all that came before.

While Riis' statement doesn't directly apply to the men's soccer team's 1-0 victory over Springfield College last Wednesday night, it certainly shared the same basic principle: The key to achieving a goal is sticking with it.

"It was a great team goal," said forward Lee Russo '13, scorer of the game's lone tally. "[Forward] Sam Ocel '13 made a great run down the right and cut in, and I was able to finish from six yards."

The loss dropped the Pride to an 8-3-3 record. The Judges improved to 9-4-1.

Following a frustrating loss against the No. 8 Washington University in St. Louis Bears on Oct. 16 in which the Judges dictated much of the play but fell 2-0, Brandeis was eager to get on the board quickly against the Pride. They were given a lucky break just two minutes, 18 seconds into the first half, as a goal by Springfield was negated by the linesman's flag due to an offsides call. The game may have been young, but the alarm bells were already ringing.

 Instead of retreating into a defensive formation, the Judges began to get a foothold on the match, dictating possession and chances. Early efforts from forward Steve Keuchkarian '12 and midfielder Theo Terris '12 were blocked and went wide, respectively, while strikers Ocel and Kyle Feather '14 both sliced efforts wide of Springfield freshman goalkeeper Brett Bascom's net. Strikers Alex Farr '12 and Tyler Savonen '15 had more scoring opportunities in the half, the latter being stonewalled by Bascom. However, for all their pressure, the match remained scoreless going into the break.

"You can dominate play and chances like against WashU," coach Mike Coven said, "but if you can't score, you can't win games."

Though overtime seemed necessary, Brandeis finally broke through. In the 83rd minute, Ocel embarked on a marauding run down the right flank. Instead of whipping in a cross, the striker dribbled into the box. Though there was a cluster of players waiting to halt his progress toward the goal, the forward passed the ball across the six-yard box to the back post, where strike partner Russo fired home.

"I think we played the best we've played all season," said Coven, "but we just couldn't score for 83 minutes. Thankfully, we got one at the end."

Coven believes that if the team continues to play airtight defense and persist on the offensive front, the Judges could make a statement if they qualify for the playoffs.

"We're probably going to have to [run the table] to make it [to the NCAA tournament]," Coven said. "A lot of it depends on what other teams do. We're still in the thick of things."

"We've probably got to win out the rest of the regular season," added Russo. "If we do that, we'll be in a much better position. But we can't look past our next game [against Lasell College]."

If the Judges are effective in converting scoring opportunities, the men could see a very successful end to the season.

Brandeis ends the regular season portion of its campaign with three University Athletic Association contests. The Judges will face Emory University at home on Friday and then travel to Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday. They then close the season at home on Nov. 5 against New York University.