Three weeks ago, the rest of the season looked quite bleak as the No. 22 men's soccer team found itself in an unenviable position.

After losing two successive games to University Athletic Association opponents Carnegie Mellon University and Emory University on Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, head coach Michael Coven knew that his team couldn't afford to lose any of its four remaining games if they wanted to have any chance of making the upcoming NCAA Division III Tournament.

In a remarkable turn of events, the Judges found a way to qualify for the second year in a row.

A 2-0 victory over New York University on Saturday capped off a 3-0-1 stretch in which the Judges also downed Mount Ida College and the University of Chicago and tied No. 19 Washington University in St. Louis.

The Judges (14-4-1), ranked No. 22 nationally and second in New England behind No. 2 Amherst College-who qualified for the tournament by virtue of winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference-earned the first of five at-large bids awarded to the New England region. Gordon College, Williams College, Roger Williams University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received the other at-large bids.

"It feels good to make it, just as good as last year," said Coven, who, last season, guided his team to its first tournament appearance in 27 years. "We got a taste of it last year and now I'm hoping we can try to do a little bit better. I think that [not losing during the rest of the regular season] says a lot about the guys that we have on this team; they knew that their backs were up against the wall, but they worked hard, they knew that they had to win those games and they did."

The game against NYU started with a fairly even tempo. The Violets (6-8-3, 0-6-1 in the UAA) were looking to keep their defensive shape while Brandeis possessed the ball with relative ease.
Forward Tyler Savonen '15 had the first real effort of the game in the 11th minute. However, his effort was blocked and the game remained scoreless in the early going.

However, it was he who delivered the opening goal in the 16th minute. For the second time in a week, Savonen made the Judges' opponents pay for playing a high line. The striker took a through ball from left-back Ben Applefield '14 and beat a Violets defender with pace down the left wing. He then curled a right-footed shot around NYU freshman goalkeeper Lucas Doucette and into the far right corner for a 1-0 advantage.

Despite outshooting the visiting Violets 4-3 in the first half, the Judges were unable to extend their lead and went into the break clinging to a one-goal advantage.

While Brandeis was in relative comfort for a majority of the second half, NYU came out strong after the interval. Senior midfielder Chris Ramirez tested Judges' goalkeeper Joe Graffy '15 with a low shot, which Graffy dove to stop.

Instead of being the start of a potential push for the equalizer, the stop would prove the springboard for the Judges' second goal, which they netted in the 69th minute.

Savonen, who used his torrid pace to get around the outside of the Violets' rearguard, sent a low ball in towards the center of the pitch. Fellow forward Evan Jastremski '17 was there to slot the ball into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage that the Judges wouldn't relinquish.

From there, the hosts were in relative control. A late surge by NYU senior center back Joseph Lee proved all the offense that the visitors would muster, and following the second half, the Judges ran out as comfortable 2-0 winners at home.

Though happy to make the tournament, Coven realizes that his team might not have earned a bid but for a clutch play by an unsung hero-center back Conor Lanahan '16.

With the score tied late in the Judges' game against WashU, Lanahan made a goal-saving tackle to deny Bears' senior forward Jeremy Kirkwood an almost certain winning goal that would likely have ended Brandeis' hopes of qualification.

"That might have saved the season for us right then and there," he said. "[Kirkwood] was in all alone and went around the 'keeper, but [Lanahan] made the big tackle and we ended up with a draw. That could have [eliminated our tournament chances]. That could have been a 1-0 game that we lost and we might not be standing here right now. That was a huge play."

Saturday night at 5 p.m., Brandeis will host a first-round game, facing the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats. If it wins that game, it will play Sunday against the winner of a battle between Roger Williams and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Newark. The two winners will meet at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

"[Johnson & Wales' conference] is not as difficult of a conference as the UAA, but anything can happen. Their coach, Dave Kulik, has done a real nice job with that program. They were struggling until he took over and has helped them improve. I'm sure they'll be excited about getting into the tournament. It should be fun," Coven said.

In a direct contrast of how the Judges were playing three weeks ago, Coven believes that his team is peaking at the right time.

"Joe [Graffy] has been playing very well in goal and I think they realized that if we probably lost another game, we wouldn't be here. They tightened it up, they had a good weekend against WashU and Chicago and it came down to the fact that they knew if we beat NYU we'd get a bid and that's what happened. Plus, I think [Savonen] has turned it on a little bit, he's scoring some big goals for us and playing better than he has in quite a while."

Regardless of the competition, Coven believes his team will be ready to battle.