Spring Break
MSOCCER: Violets end Judges' hopes for postseason berth
by Ian Cutler
Sports Editor
Sports | 11/11/08
Posted online at 1:39 AM EST on 11/11/08
As the final minutes of the men's soccer team's season finale at New York University last Saturday approached, forward Ben Premo '09 said it was tough to hold back his emotions in what would be the final game of his and co-captain Kevin Murphy's '09 college careers.
"With about three minutes left it started to overwhelm me, and I couldn't help but feel sad," Premo said. "You don't know how it feels until you're actually there."
The Judges concluded their season with a 2-0 loss to NYU, ending their postseason chances and clinching the team's second-straight winless season in the University Athletic Association. With the loss, Brandeis fell to 0-5-2 in conference play and dropped its overall record to 8-9-2, making it ineligible for the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. In order to qualify for the ECACs, a team must have an overall record of at least .500.
"It wasn't [a] lack of effort on our part. We knew how important this game was, and we worked hard all week," coach Mike Coven said. "I can't put my finger on what went wrong this season. We had high expectations, and it just didn't work out."
The Violets scored in the 18th minute when senior forward Branden Neal tapped in a crossing pass from junior midfielder Brandon Hintz for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The lead held, and in what continued to be a theme in Brandeis' UAA games this season, the Judges were forced to play more aggressively in the second half only to fall further behind. This time, the Judges gave up another goal in the final minutes of the contest when NYU rookie midfielder Badr Bevaart volleyed in a free kick by Hintz in the 81st minute.
"This game was very typical of us," Coven said. "A lot of games this year we didn't start well, and then we played with urgency and played better. Those late goals happen because we move up our guys when we get down. It happened against [Carnegie Mellon University] and [Emory University], and we blew a late lead against [the University of Chicago]."
"With about three minutes left it started to overwhelm me, and I couldn't help but feel sad," Premo said. "You don't know how it feels until you're actually there."
The Judges concluded their season with a 2-0 loss to NYU, ending their postseason chances and clinching the team's second-straight winless season in the University Athletic Association. With the loss, Brandeis fell to 0-5-2 in conference play and dropped its overall record to 8-9-2, making it ineligible for the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament. In order to qualify for the ECACs, a team must have an overall record of at least .500.
"It wasn't [a] lack of effort on our part. We knew how important this game was, and we worked hard all week," coach Mike Coven said. "I can't put my finger on what went wrong this season. We had high expectations, and it just didn't work out."
The Violets scored in the 18th minute when senior forward Branden Neal tapped in a crossing pass from junior midfielder Brandon Hintz for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The lead held, and in what continued to be a theme in Brandeis' UAA games this season, the Judges were forced to play more aggressively in the second half only to fall further behind. This time, the Judges gave up another goal in the final minutes of the contest when NYU rookie midfielder Badr Bevaart volleyed in a free kick by Hintz in the 81st minute.
"This game was very typical of us," Coven said. "A lot of games this year we didn't start well, and then we played with urgency and played better. Those late goals happen because we move up our guys when we get down. It happened against [Carnegie Mellon University] and [Emory University], and we blew a late lead against [the University of Chicago]."
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