The soccer team won both of their matches this past weekend at the Xara Classic tournament in New Hampshire, defeating Keene State University 3-2 Saturday, followed by a 2-1 victory over Rowan University on Sunday.

With the two wins, the Judges improved to a perfect 2-0 mark on the season. Midfielder Kyle Feather '14 and forward Michael Soboff '15 were named to the all-tournament team following the Judges' triumph over Rowan.

"We grinded out the wins," said coach Michael Coven, whose team improved to 2-0-0 on the season. "That's probably the most positive thing about the weekend. We played with a lot of fortitude and heart, and that is really what Brandeis soccer is all about."

In Sunday's contest, the Judges got on the board in the 20th minute when Soboff-who is playing his first season for Brandeis after transferring from the Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey e-scored off of a deflection by the goalkeeper. Brandeis would take the lead into halftime, holding Rowan University to zero shots on goal during the first 45 minutes of the game.

Soboff's impact on the team has not been lost on Coven.

"He is a terrific player," said Coven. "I didn't realize how good he was. He has been sort of hurt. A separated shoulder ended his career at Rutgers, and he wasn't allowed to start training until the beginning of August, so he's still figuring things out in that respect. I think he and [All-American forward] Sam [Ocel '13] will work very well together leading our offense this year. He can finish. He can distribute. He is a very, very good player."

Coven also hailed the impact of new forward Evan Jastremski '17, the Judges' third striker in their attack-minded 4-3-3 formation.

"(He) has great speed, good in the air and he can finish well," said Coven of Jastremski.

The second half saw much of the same defensive pressure from the Judges as Rowan University only managed two shots on goal. With three minutes, 46 seconds remaining, Ocel set up Feather for the insurance goal to stretch the lead to 2-0, seemingly putting the game to bed. However, the goal proved to be quite pivotal, as Rowan answered with a goal of its own less than a minute later. However, despite the late scare from the Profs, the Judges held onto to secure the vital victory.

The game was also quite physical, epitomized by the fact that Brandeis and Rowan picked up 11 and 20 fouls, respectively.

Saturday's match, though, saw the Judges win in comeback fashion for the fifth time since the start of the 2012 season. Against the run of play, Keene State took the lead in the 16th minute when junior forward Michael Jacques scored following a give-and-go.

However, the Judges weren't to be denied, and quickly responded with a goal of their own in the 21st minute as Feather scored off a cross from left back Ben Applefield '14.

In the 34th minute, Soboff swung in a cross toward Ocel, who then scored to give the Judges a 2-1 lead heading into the half.

While the Judges had grabbed the upper hand the scoring hadn't ended just yet.

In the 69th minute, Keene State sophomore forward Eric Dietz tied the game, putting the ball home off a pass from senior forward Scott Douglas, giving the home fans optimism that their team could pull out a win in a game that had looked to be done and dusted.

With the game tied at two goals apiece, the Judges looked to respond with the telling contribution. They did, sealing the win with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

As he did so many times last year, Ocel played a part in the decisive sequence, as he fed Soboff, who made no mistake in putting the ball home to score his first collegiate goal.

"One of our problems last year was that we didn't have a lot of depth. Beyond our 12th or 13th man, we weren't super consistent. This year, we're pretty deep. We have a lot of good young guys that have come in and done well.

"What's great is that our new players can give some of our starting 11 players rest when they need it," he continued. "That should be beneficial to us as a team. We'll see exactly what kind of impact that will have as the season goes on, but I think it will help us out."

The schedule, which Coven called "one of the toughest Division III schedules in New England" doesn't get any easier for the Judges. Brandeis' next two games feature teams that, like the Judges, qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament last year.

First, Brandeis will take on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tomorrow night at 7 p.m in their home opener.

The Engineers are a quality team-last year, they gave the Judges a big scare, tying the game late in regulation, before Brandeis prevailed 4-3 in overtime thanks to a free kick from forward Lee Russo '13, who scored a hat-trick that day.
Additionally, the Judges will take on local rival Babson College on Saturday at 7 p.m., a game which Coven's team won at home last year in double-overtime from a goal from Ocel, which ended a three-game losing streak against the Beavers.

And, having graduated three-time All-American forward Eric Anderson this spring, defending against Babson will hopefully become easier for the Brandeis back line, as Anderson scored seven times against the Judges.

Though Coven would have liked to see his team dominate their first two games, he isn't complaining about their outcome.

"Two wins are two wins," he said. "A good start to the season."