WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Brandeis men's soccer team got their legendary coach with one victory of a milestone win tonight as the Judges posted a 1-0 non-conference win at Clark University.
The win brings Brandeis head coach Mike Coven within one victory of a milestone 500th win. Coven, in his 43rd season on the sidelines with the Judges, is looking to become Division III's sixth coach and the 11th in all NCAA men's soccer history with 500 victories. He will go for the landmark win tomorrow at 5 p.m. at home against Babson in the 63rd-ever meeting with the Beavers, the most-played rivalry in program history.
For the second game in a row, a senior captain provided the only goal the Judges would need. In the 50th minute, sophomore Patrick Flahive (Chatham, Ill. / Worcester Acad.) connected with midfielder Jake Picard (Suffield, Conn./Suffield), who registered his first goal of the season and the seventh of his career. Picard now has three career game-winners.
The Brandeis goal came just after sophomore Ben Woodhouse (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) made two of his three saves on the evening. With the three stops, Woodhouse registered his second shutout in three career starts.
The Judges nearly doubled their lead moments later when Kyle Robinson (York, Maine/Phillips Exeter) unleashed a blast from the left side of the box but his shot sailed too much and banged off the crossbar.
Clark had terrific scoring chance in the 85th minute but Kyle Russo (Westford, Mass.) - whose brother Lee played for the Judges - saw his shot go high over the crossbar.
The win improved the Judges - who are ranked 7th in Division III according to the NSCAA, 18th by D3soccer.com - to 4-1 this season. All four Brandeis wins have been by one goal, with three of them by a 1-0 score. Clark falls to 2-2-1.
(some info taken from a Clark press release)