The Justice

Midfielder Alex Ball '09 attempts to control the ball in the Judges' 1-0 loss to the University of Chicago Friday. Photo by David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

It has been 326 minutes, or roughly 3 1/2 games, since the men's soccer team has scored a goal in a University Athletic Association contest.

The Judges' offensive deficiencies contributed to a pair of shutout losses at home this past weekend-2-0 to Washington University in St. Louis Sunday and 1-0 to the University of Chicago Friday. Brandeis is now 6-6-2 on the season and 0-4 in UAA play.

"One thing [the team] has never done is quit; they've played very hard, but at the end of the day, 0-4 speaks for itself," assistant coach Gabe Margolis said.

The team's problem has been finishing opportunities rather than starting them. With 23 combined shots in the two games this weekend, the Judges had plenty of chances to score, but no shot has found the back of the net. Margolis said the team continually lacks composure in the opposition's third of the field.

The Bears got on the board in the 29th minute in Sunday's loss to WashU. Junior forward Eric Hill used his chest to maintain possession and then passed to substitute junior midfielder Kellen Hayes, who scored from seven yards out.

WashU then put the game away in the 51st minute when sophomore defender Nat Zenner blasted a shot from 20 yards into the left side of the net.

"The first goal was a mental lapse, but that second goal you just have to give [credit] to WashU; it was a beautiful shot," goalie Taylor Bracken '10 said. "No goalie in the world could save that [shot], unless they were standing right there in front of it."

The score could have been even more lopsided. WashU had a third goal in the 77th minute erased by an offsides penalty, and saw shots ricochet off the crossbar in the 57th and 82nd minutes.

The Judges were outshot 22-10, including 12-2 in the first half. This is the fourth time they have been shut out this season, three coming in UAA play.

Despite the team's struggles, WashU coach Joe Clarke said after the game that he was impressed with Brandeis' effort.

"Of the four teams in the league that we've played, Brandeis is the best passing team," he said. "Brandeis is a good soccer team. I'm happy to be done with them; they can beat any team in the league."

Continued...

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