Having survived tests against regional rivals Babson College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the No. 12 men's soccer team would have hoped for a similar result against Tufts University on Saturday.

However, the Judges were not able to pick up the win, falling to Tufts 2-0 at Kraft Field in a hotly-contested game.
Earlier in the week, Brandeis, currently sitting at 7-1-1 for the year, downed visiting Lasell College in dominating fashion, beating their local opponents 5-1.

"We talked in training about not giving away stupid fouls, especially in the attacking half of good teams," said head coach Michael Coven, referring to the first goal that the team ceded against Tufts. "We were over-committing in the midfield and losing the ball. We did a good job creating some chances, but we can't give them opportunities to score like we did."

Against Tufts, the Judges opened as the better of the two teams, putting significant pressure on the Jumbos' defense. Forward Sam Ocel '13 had the first real chance of the game in the fifth minute, getting his head to a free kick from left-back Ben Applefield '14. Though he made clean contact, he sent the looping header over the bar from six yards. Despite being away from their home field, the Judges had played at a higher level in the first few minutes.

However, the home team-after being offsides a couple of times-found the net in the 21st minute of the game. After the Judges were called for a foul, Tufts junior forward Gus Santos took a free kick from the left wing, which, despite goalkeeper Joe Graffy '15 getting a hand to it, found its way into the net for a 1-0 advantage.

Though Brandeis' initial response was bright, as forward Michael Soboff '15 shot wide, the team would be undone again just six minutes later. The Judges' defense was caught out for playing a high line, and Tufts sophomore midfielder Connor Brown sent in a low through ball, which evaded the defense and was finished by junior forward Max Hoppenot.

The two goals had an impact on the team's play; they shocked Brandeis and galvanized Tufts. The Jumbos hadn't played particularly well, but were suddenly orchestrating the midfield action. Meanwhile, Brandeis was frazzled, and only took two shots on goal, a driven effort from midfielder Tudor Livadaru '14 and another header from Ocel that were stopped by Tufts freshman goalkeeper Scott Greenwood.

Looking to come out of the break strong, the Judges were instead on the defensive and almost conceded a third goal in the 56th minute. Running away from goal, Tufts sophomore forward Tal Smith hit a shot that caromed off the underside of the crossbar. Three minutes later, Brandeis forward Evan Jastremski '17 was set in on goal, but sent his effort over the bar.

Aside from the last 10 minutes, where the Judges had a couple of chances, Tufts dominated play in the second half, ending the game as deserving winners.

"When you lose a game, you go back and pick things apart and see what you did wrong," Coven said. "That's what we're doing right now and I'm hoping that we are able to do that here."

Wednesday's game was a vastly different story.

Against Lasell, the Judges wasted no time getting on the board, scoring the first goal of the match in the 11th minute. Right-back Foti Andreo '15 sent a throw-in from the right wing, which bounced before being headed home by midfielder Kyle Feather '15.

The second goal arrived 15 minutes later. Livadaru applied the finishing touch to a ball that bounced around in the box, hammering home to make it 2-0.

In the 38th minute, rookie midfielder Mike Lynch '17 scored a superlative goal to make it 3-0, slamming a driven shot into the top-left corner which put the Judges three goals to the good.

While soccer is generally low-scoring in nature, this game proved to be an exception. And the fourth goal arrived with 2:58 before halftime, as forward Michael Chaput '16 finished a cross from Livadaru for his first collegiate goal.

Feather marked the beginning of the second half with a delicate finish, lofting the ball into the top-right corner to give the Judges a commanding advantage.

Lasell's boisterous fans would finally have reason to celebrate in the 82nd minute, when freshman midfielder Lance Mayo finished from close range to cut the advantage to 5-1.

However, it was too little, too late, as the Judges were able to run out the clock and celebrate a massive victory.

Following that game, Coven hailed Feather's finishing ability.

"Kyle is finding the frame this year," he said. "He's always been involved in the attack. He's probably worked on his shot, because he's getting stuff on goal and he's just attacking better."

In addition to having praise for Feather, Coven complimented Ocel-who scored 14 goals last year and was named a Third Team All-American-on his willingness to sacrifice his goalscoring in order to drop back and help him out in the midfield.

"We've been playing him back to help slow the game down, because he is very helpful there with all of our injuries. I asked him 'Does it bother you [that you've been dropping back and not scoring as much]?' He said, 'Coach, I couldn't care less how many goals I score, I just want then team to win.' The team comes first for him."

"But, when push comes to shove in the big games, in the [University Athletic Association] games, he's going to be the one up top finishing up the chances for us."

Brandeis returns to action tomorrow night, hosting the Wentworth Institute of Technology at 7 p.m.