WALTHAM, Mass. - The Brandeis University men's soccer team played stout defense and scored goals in each half tonight as the Judges earned their second shutout of the season, 2-0, over nearby rival Lasell College under the lights of Gordon Field. The Judges improve to 6-8-1 with their second-straight win, while Lasell falls to 9-5-3.
Brandeis got all the scoring it would need in the 26th minute. Rookie midfielder Joe Eisenbies (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) sent a cross to junior midfielder Kyle Gross (Medway, Mass./Medway) at the top of the box. Gross took a blast, which deflected off a Lasell defender and past Laser senior goalkeeper Julian Dutton (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand). It was the second straight game with a goal for Gross and his second goal overall on the season, while the assist was the first collegiate point for Eisenbies. The shots in the first half were 8-6 in favor of the hosts, but Brandeis put six of their attempts on goal, while Lasell was off the mark on all of their shots.
In the second half, the Judges got an insurance goal in the 52nd minute. Rookie forward Lee Russo (Westford, Mass./Westford Acad.) sent a hard cross through the goal mouth. A Laser defender was there to try to break up the pass, but ended up redirecting into the net for an own goal. It was the third time this season the Judges have scored on an opponent miscue. The Brandeis defense took over from there, allowing just two more Laser shots in the second half, none of which were on net.
Dutton finished with six saves for Lasell, five coming in the first half. Brandeis junior netminder Matt Lynch (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) was untested on the night thanks to fine performances by the back line of sophomore Ari Silver (Princeton, N.J./Princeton), junior Nick Howard (Chestnut Hill, Mass./Brookline), sophomore David McCoy (Weymouth, Mass./Catholic Memorial) and rookie Matt Hauser (Atlanta, Ga./Northfield Mt. Hermon).
Brandeis continues their four-game home-stand to end the regular season on Friday evening with a University Athletic Association contest against Washington University at 5 p.m. Lasell hosts a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal on Saturday at 1 p.m.