Glass breaks deadlock as men's soccer tops Clark, 2-1

Evan Glass running at midfield in the rain during a match against Western New England University.
Evan Glass '22 (photo by Sportspix.com / Jan Volk)

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University men's soccer team scored goals early in each half tonight to defeat visiting Clark University, 2-1, in a non-conference match-up on Gordon Field. With the win, Brandeis's second in a row, the Judges improve to 3-4-1 on the season. Clark falls to 5-5-1 with their third-straight loss.

Brandeis opened the scoring just 3:06 into the contest. Sophomore Max Horowitz (Swansea, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) made a long run down the right flank, dribbled into the box, and sent a perfect cross through the six-yard area. First-year forward John Loo (Easton, Conn. / Joel Barlow) was presented with a wide-open net and tapped the ball in for his first collegiate goal. The assist was Horowitz's fourth point in the last two games.

Clark equalized in the 39th minute on a Brandeis defensive miscue. On a goal kick, the ball was set on the goalie box and ready to kick. Brandeis junior keeper Aiden Guthro (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) tapped it to a teammate, expecting it to be reset for a long kick, but the ball was deemed in play. Clark's Brian Brennan pressured the Judges, forced a turnover, and shot it past a scrambling Guthro for his second goal of the season to make it 1-1. That score stood until halftime.

The Judges struck quickly again in the second half, just 3:48 into the stanza. Brandeis drew a Clark foul just outside the 18-yard box from straight on. First-year back Andres Gonzalez (Doral, Fla. / Divine Savior Academy) took the free kick and hit the right post, just below the crossbar. The ball deflected to senior midfielder Michael Burch (Glastonbury, Conn./Suffield Academy), who headed it towards the goal. Classmate Evan Glass (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet Regional) was there to punch it home for the first goal of his career.

Guthro was called on to make one more save in the contest, off a header by Clark's Byron Lind in the 56th minute, to secure the victory. He finished with two stops, one in each half, while the Cougars' Andrew Distefano also had two saves, both in the first stanza. Brandeis outshot Clark, 14-10, and four corners to the visitors' two.

The Judges improved to 33-13-7 all time in the third-most played rivalry in program history. They have eight wins and a tie in the last nine meetings.

Brandeis opens up University Athletic Association play on Saturday, October 2, at 1:30 p.m. against Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.