WALTHAM, Mass. – For the second-straight contest, Brandeis University sophomore midfielder Mary Shimko (Bay Village, Ohio/Lake Ridge Acad.) scored the game-winning goal, as the Judges' women's soccer team defeated visiting MIT, 2-0. Brandeis improves to 2-0 on the season, while the Engineers drop to 1-1.
The first half was evenly played and saw the teams register six shots apiece. The Judges avoided falling behind in the 11th and 12th minutes. After MIT junior Emily Kuo (Chicago, Ill./Univ. of Chicago Laboratory) hit the crossbar, Brandeis junior goalie Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) knocked the follow-up by Engineer junior midfielder Casandra Ceri (Clarksville, Tenn./Clarksville Acad.) over the net. Kofinas stoned Ceri again in the 15th minute.
It was a set play in the 20th minute that proved decisive for the hosts. A free kick from about 25 yards out to the right of the box was taken by sophomore back Kelly Peterson (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake). The kick found the head of senior Mimi Theodore (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), who sent it towards the open net, where Shimko finished at the 19:24 mark. It was her second goal of the season and the fourth of her career, as Shimko matched her scoring total from all of 2010.
Brandeis controlled play more in the second half, outshooting the visitors, 9-3. It paid off on a goal by Theodore in the 72nd minute. Senior midfielder Fran Shin (Bayside, N.Y./Benjamin Cardozo) made a nice move to get free in the box, and her cross was headed in at 71:10. For Theodore, it was her first goal of the season and the 19th of her career.
Rookie goalkeeper Michelle Savuto (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) made three saves, the first of her collegiate career, to keep the clean sheet for Brandeis. MIT junior Meghan Wright (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) had three stops in the losing effort. With the victory, the Judges avenged their only non-conference loss of the 2010 regular season, a 2-1 defeat in Cambridge.
The Judges are back in action on Wednesday afternoon at Lasell College at 4:30 p.m., while MIT plays its home opener against Worcester State Tuesday at 7 p.m.