Last weekend was a lively one at Brandeis. Campus was bustling all weekend as the school hosted a special rendition of homecoming, celebrating the school's 75th anniversary. With dozens of events on campus for parents, alumni, and students alike, it was perhaps the most spirited, energetic, and passionate homecoming to date. On Saturday, Oct. 14th, alumni and parents poured through the stands, tailgaters packed the beer garden, and food and ice cream trucks served delicious delicacies in the parking lot as the women’s and men’s varsity soccer teams played host to the Chicago Maroons.

The women played in the morning, with hundreds of fans crowding the stands and nearby attractions. The Judges entered the day 0-2 in the University Athletic Association, coming off losses to Carnegie Mellon University and Washington University (MO.), ranked #1 and #3 respectively in the Division 3 national rankings. They nearly scraped out a result against the top-ranked Tartans, who boasted an 11-0 record at the time, narrowly dropping their first game of the season, 1-0 in front of the Jury at Gordon Field on September 30. The Judges had resided 18th in the rankings at the time.

For the first 85 minutes, the match was even. Chicago had 11 shots, six of which were on target, to Brandeis’ 10 shots, four of which found the frame. Tanvi Raju ’26 led the team off the bench with five shots and two on target. Brandeis had many opportunities to grab a much-needed three points before a heartbreaker in the 86th minute. The Maroons’ Hannah Rittenhouse notched a late winner, which proved a decisive blow to the Judges.

After starting the season undefeated in their first eight matches (5-0-3 record) and a 16-6 goal differential, the Judges fell to 0-3 in the UAA on Saturday, rueing their misses in a game they wish they had back. All hope is not lost for Brandeis, but they now face an uphill battle to reach the NCAA tournament, which they last attended in 2021.

Captain Sydney Lenhart ’24 is adamant that her team’s season is far from over, saying “We’ve all come together and set our minds to keep putting the work in. We’ve been training hard and want to translate all the work we’ve put in this season and show our skills off during the games.”

The crowd continued to pour in throughout the day with the men’s game following in the afternoon, as they prepared to face off against the defending National Champions. Chicago got the better of Brandeis 3-1 in Waltham last season, en route to a dominant and historic 22-0-1 season. The Judges did shock the Maroons on their own turf in 2021, before Chicago danced their way to the Final Four of the Division 3 NCAA Tournament. This season has looked more human for Chicago thus far, the team having faltered of late. With a 6-2-3 record, they were still ranked 17th entering play. Brandeis, meanwhile, entered the weekend off the back of a last-minute winning goal in St. Louis that downed WashU, thanks to the heroics of Rainer Osselman-Chai ’26, and nearly knocking off #8 Babson in a 2-2 draw.

This was another highly intense match. Chicago commanded the shot chart 19 (6 on target) to 10 (3 on target), but couldn’t usher the ball over the line. Brandeis held their head in hands at times as well, after nearly breaking the deadlock themselves, with multiple scrambles near Chicago’s goal getting away from the Judges. The 0-0 draw did not reflect the excitement of the match, but was seemingly a fair result for both sides. Each team will feel happy to take away a hard-fought draw yet disappointed not to have won it at certain moments, as there were many close calls throughout the match.

The Judges are on the uptick after a difficult start to the season. Despite a 3-5-5 record, they ended this game undefeated in the UAA, sitting third in one of the most elite conferences in the country.

Co-captain Roee Maor ’24 acknowledges the momentum that his Judges currently have, and believes the group has a clear understanding of what it means to be a team. “Every guy on our roster has upheld the standard of being a Brandeis soccer player and made sure that the teammate next to him is doing the same.” He displays confidence in the team: “As this continues, expect to see performances that continue to impress.”

Fellow co-captain Sancho Maroto-Tobias ’24 asserts that this change in form was not the result of a specific turning point. Rather, they have been working since day one, and the results are finally showing. “Our mentality has been our biggest rival but we’ve been able to go over some bumps along the road that have honed our path.” Sancho stresses that they are now approaching games with a different mentality– aiming to win, rather than to avoid losing.

Since these games, the men and women each dropped their matches to both Emory and Rochester. The women fall to a 6-6-3 record, and the men fall to 3-7-5.

This Saturday, Oct 28th, both the women and men host Case Western Reserve on senior day at Gordon Field – be sure to come out and support your Judges!