The women’s soccer team kept its undefeated season alive this week, capturing two home victories against Case Western Reserve University and Lesley University. The Judges defeated Case Western with a trouncing 4-0 deficit on Saturday, while earning the win against Lesley 2-0 on Tuesday. 

Judges 4, Case Western 0

The No. 8 Brandeis squad had four different players score against Case Western, all in the first half alone. Midfielder Haliana Burhans ’18 scored for the team first, with a strike five minutes into the contest. She was assisted on the first score by forward Cidney Moscovitch ’17 and forward Samantha Schwartz ’18. Burhans now has two goals on the season, to go with her team-high five assists.

Moscovitch put home the second goal with a header into the corner of the goal after a beautifully placed cross from defender Jessica Morana ’17. Moscovitch has the third most goals on the squad with a total of five.

The Judges continued their efficiency on set pieces with a free kick score from defender Michaela Friedman ’17. The team’s fourth goal came only two minutes later in the 28th minute, when midfielder Sasha Sunday ’19 used a lefty strike from far out that the Case Western goalkeeper was unable to corral.  

The squad controlled the game from the start, outshooting the Spartans 12-4, including nine total shots on goal. Brandeis goalkeeper Alexis Grossman ’17 was able to stop all three of the visitors’ shots on goal.  

Judges 2, Lesley 0

On Tuesday, the team once again earned an impressive shutout, this time against regional foe Lesley. Once again, Schwartz was a dominant force on the competition. 

Schwartz got the home team on the board early in the 20th minute of the game. Schwartz was able to collect the ball off  a slick pass from Burhans about 25 yards out and dribble through the defense to the box, where she buried the shot deep into the back of the net. 

The squad was kept off of the scoreboard for the rest of the half. Once the second half resumed, the scoring opportunities continued for the Judges. In the 56th minute, forward Lea McDaniel ’17 broke free from her defender. She was able to pass it off to Schwartz, who was sitting at the six-yard box. Schwartz was able to get a clean first touch on the ball and blasted through the screen for second goal of the game. 

This was the second time this regular season that Schwartz was able to record a brace, a feat of scoring two goals in one contest. Her first goal on the day was also her eighth career game-winning score. For the team as a whole, the squad outshot the visitors by a large total of 14-3, including 10-1 on shots on goal.  

Grossman was dominant throughout the week, picking up two more shutouts. The two represented Grossman’s 18th career shutout, as well as her 27th collegiate victory. She is only five shutouts away from drawing even with the school record of 23. 

At an overall record of 12-0-1, the Judges are off to their best start in school history. The victory against Case Western broke the program’s previous best record of 12 consecutive games without a loss in 2014. 

The team will next be in action on Friday night on the road against the University of Chicago. The team will then play again at Washington University in St. Louis in the afternoon. 

The Judges struggled last season against the two powerhouse teams, losing 1-0 to Chicago and pushing out a tough overtime victory against Washington. 

The loss to Chicago marked the second loss of the season for the Judges and a rare event during the regular season.  

The matchup against Chicago will be the ultimate test, as the team stands at 10-1 in the record books and is in second place in the conference. Chicago is 1-1 in conference play, while the Judges are undefeated. 

Washington is next in line, standing in third place in the conference and 9-2-1 in overall regular season record. If the Judges can stave off Chicago and finish off Washington, the Judgdes will have a serious chance at finishing the season undefeated. 

The Judges have three more conference games for the season after this week, each of which should be easy wins. 

As the season drags along, the Judges will need to keep their momentum rolling to snag the conference title and the polish off  their record-breaking season.