The No. 17 women's soccer team saw mixed results this week, winning 3-0 over Wellesley College on Tuesday, before losing by a 4-0 margin at Bowdoin College on Saturday afternoon.

The two games fittingly displayed the team's strengths and weaknesses this season. Up to this point in the campaign, the Judges have yet to find consistency in their game. It looked as if their 5-0 start to the season was a sign of things to come-featuring solid defense and an exhaustive attack-but after losing two of their last three games, the women have fallen to 6-2.

The win against Wellesley was "extremely important" according to midfielder Sara Isaacson '16. Coming off of a loss to Gordon College on Sept. 18, the team needed a win over Wellesley to stay in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III rankings, and they delivered.

The story on Saturday against Bowdoin was a stark contrast. Despite outshooting the hosts 6-2, Brandeis found itself behind by a score of 2-0 with less than 20 minutes played.

Bowdoin junior defender Abby Einwag scored twice, assisted by sophomore forward Kiersten Turner, with both goals coming from crosses from the right flank. As a result, the game spiraled quickly out of the Judges' control, something that Isaacson ultimately believed played a role in the Judges' downfall.

"We were never able to fully find our rhythm against Bowdoin," she said, "and I think they just came out more fired up than us. As disappointing as the loss was, it gave us a chance to see what kind of competition we will be coming up against [for the rest of this season], so we should be ready to go this coming week."

In past games, the women have relied on a steady attack in the first half and a much more aggressive attack coming out of the half, but this time they were unable to do so. The Polar Bears scored in the 47th minute on a run by Turner that forced goalkeeper Michelle Savuto '15 to come out of the net. Turner then finished the effort and extended the lead to 3-0.

Bowdoin held only a slim shot advantage at 18-15 against the Brandeis women, but they earned more quality shots throughout the day, securing a 4-1 corner kick advantage over the Judges. The closest chance that the Judges had was a shot by forward Sapir Edalati '15 that forced Bowdoin sophomore goalkeeper Bridget McCarthy to tip the ball onto the crossbar-just before it had a chance to get the Judges back into the game.

The Polar Bears put the finishing touches on the score line in the 85th minute. Senior defender Becky Stoneman lofted a free kick into the box, where classmate Molly Popolizio was on hand to head the ball past Savuto for the winning margin.

The Judges, conversely, started strong against Wellesley and found themselves ahead just over a minute into the contest. A breakaway by forward Dara Spital '15 saw the striker take a shot on the visitors' net. Though Wellesley junior goalkeeper Cat Cerda got a hand to the chipped effort, she was unable to keep it out, resulting in a 1-0 lead for Brandeis.

Despite controlling the majority of the play in the first half, the Judges were unable to score.

However, they came out much stronger in the second half, posting 12 shots on goal in the second 45 minutes as opposed to just five in the first 45.

That dominance was epitomized in the 62nd minute, as the Judges grabbed a 2-0 advantage. Once again, Spital proved important, sending a cross into the box which was headed into the net by fellow forward Sapir Edalati '15.

With four minutes left, Spital put the finishing touch on her five-point game, sending a left-footed shot on net after a throw-in from defender Jessica Morana '17.

Despite the obvious setback, Isaacson believes that the team as a whole is putting together some good play.

"I think we are starting to gel more as the season goes on," she remarked. "Our passing is amazing at times which obviously feels [great when we are dominating possession]. We need to make sure we don't ever let up and always show up to play at every practice and game especially once we get into more intense games as the season progresses."

The team will try to get their season back on track tonight at 7 p.m. at home against Smith College. They then play at Case Western Reserve University on October 5th in a crucial University Athletic Association game, which Isaacson believes has come at the perfect time.

"With UAA play starting this weekend, we want to make a statement at Case to the rest of the UAA and continue to prove ourselves," she said. "We want to take it one day at a time and not get too ahead of ourselves."

Given the way the Judges rebounded from their first loss, it is quite realistic to believe that the team has it in them to come back against its next two opponents.

- Henry Loughlin contributed reporting