WALTHAM, Mass. – The top-seeded Brandeis University men's soccer team successfully defended its Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England tournament title today as the Judges cruised by second-seeded Albertus Magnus College, 8-0, on Gordon Field. Brandeis finishes its season with a 15-5-1 record, while AMC is 17-4-1.
Junior central defensive midfielder Joe Eisenbies (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Eisenbies led a tremendous team defensive effort, holding Brandeis's three opponents in the tournament to a total of nine shots. In all, the Judges outshot their opponents by a 93-9 margin, including 30-4 today.
Eisenbies helped the Judges set a new school record for a season with 0.61 shutouts per game – 13 shutouts in 21 contests, including four in a row to end the season. Of their 15 victories, 13 came by way of the clean sheet, with junior Blake Minchoff (Fiskdale, Mass./Tantasqua Regional) finishing with 12 individual shutouts on the season, two shy of the school record.
Offensively, the Judges were balanced in their scoring today, with seven different players tallying the eight goals, and five players accounting for 10 assists. The only multiple-goal scorer on the afternoon was senior forward Steve Keuchkarian (Watertown, Mass./Watertown), who notched what proved to be the game-winning goal just 7:03 into the contest when he bent a ball from deep along right sideline into the far left corner of the net. Classmate Theo Terris (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) had the assist on the play, one of a team-high three on the afternoon. Terris finishes the season with eight helpers to lead the Judges.
Two other players were involved in three goals today, as senior forward Alexander Farr (Nahant, Mass./St. John's Prep) and junior Lee Russo (Westford, Mass./Westford Acad.) each had a goal and two assists. They became the 20th and 21st players in school history with 50 career points. Farr finished his career in 19th place on the list with 23 goals and six assists for 52 points, while Russo will enter his senior season tied for 20th with 20 goals and 10 assists for 50 points. One of the players they passed today was Albertus Magnus associate head coach and Brandeis Hall of Famer Frank Raio '84, who had 49 points.
Other offensive highlights for the Judges included a goal and an assist by junior forward Sam Ocel (No. Attleboro, Mass./No. Attleboro), two assists by sophomore back Ben Applefield (Avon, Conn./Avon) and the first career goal by senior back David McCoy (Weymouth, Mass./St. Johns Prep) in the 64th minute.
Brandeis coach Mike Coven, in his 39th season, has helped guide his team to its fourth ECAC crown, to go with titles in 1994, 2006 and 2010. They have won nine-straight ECAC tournament contests dating back to that 2006 crown. The 15 wins by the team this season are the most by a Brandeis men's soccer team since 1997.
