In the final game of the regular season, the Judges drew even with New York University. After two regulation periods and two overtime periods, the score was locked at 1-1 and the game finished in a tie. Before the game, the team honored its two seniors, forwards Samantha Schwartz ’18 and Haliana Burhans ’18, who played in their final regular season games as Brandeisians. This draw left the Judges with a final record of 11-3-3 including 2-3-2 in the University Athletic Association. This placed them fourth in the University Athletic Association, tied with the NYU Violets. 

The University of Chicago, with a record of 17-1 — including 6-1 in conference play — came out on top of the league. The runner up was Washington University in St. Louis (15-1-1, 6-1). Following them was Carnegie Mellon University (13-2-2, 5-1-1). While Brandeis had a better overall record at 11-4-4 compared to NYU’s 10-5-3, the two clubs had identical 2-3-2 records within the conference and a draw against each other left them tied for fourth. Coming in sixth was Emory University (10-7-1, 2-4-1). The University of Rochester (7-9-1, 1-6) and Case Western Reserve University (7-11, 1-6) rounded out the standings, tying for last place.

Judges 1, NYU 1

On Saturday, the Judges hosted New York University for their final game of the regular season. In the first half, Brandeis outshot NYU 7-4, but few of those shots were on target. The closest attempt came when Schwartz hit the crossbar in the 17th minute. The first half drew to a close with the teams still tied 0-0. NYU drew first blood in the 67th minute. After a foul was called on the Judges about 25 yards from goal, NYU freshman back Nalani Ogawa drilled a free kick just under the crossbar and out of the reach of goalkeeper Frankie Pinto ’17. After 10 more minutes of play, the Judges struck back and scored the equalizing goal. Midfielder Hannah Maatallah ’19 passed the ball to defender Julia Jaffe ’19. Jaffe darted through the NYU defense and scored her first goal as a Judge. This was the end of scoring for regulation and the game went into overtime. In the two overtime periods, Brandeis outplayed NYU, leading the shot spread 5-2, but they could not find the back of the net and after two overtime periods the score was still tied 1-1 and the game ended in a draw. 

As this was the final game of the regular season, the squad now looks ahead to the playoffs. The team eagerly watched the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament selection show, which aired yesterday afternoon. 

The squad made the tournament for a team record fourth straight season. In a tournament-style postseason similar to March Madness for basketball, 64 teams will compete. The Judges will play the Stevens Institute of Technology in the opening round, which will occur sometime next weekend. Stevens plays in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a large conference with over 100 Division III schools. They finished with a record of 11-3-4, slightly better than the Judges, but it should be an even matchup. The Judges have had success in the playoffs in the past, but injuries could plague the team this time around. The team is on its third goalkeeper, graduate student Frankie Pinto ’17. She was a redshirt first-year and spent her Brandeis career playing basketball. She has done well, but a solid goalkeeper is always an important element of any team, especially come playoff time. If the Judges win this weekend, they will advance and play either Williams College or Lesley University. Williams is the first seed in the region, so that will be a tough matchup, but if the Judges pull out a win, their path further in the playoffs should be less competitive. 

Will the Judges make a deep postseason run? Or will the team’s injuries plague them and cause an early exit? The team has been surviving with the depth that it has so far. However, only time will tell if the squad can muster more clutch performances when it matters the most.