In the first half of play, Brandeis controlled the run, outshooting Lasell, 11-4, although the Lasers had three corner kicks to two for the Judges. Brandeis got the first four shots of the game before breaking through in the 21st minute. Rookie midfielder Sara Isaacson (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) found sophomore forward Dara Spital (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) five yards out of the top of the box. Spital blasted it in off the fingertips of Lasell keeper Leah Pappalardo (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regional). The goal was Spital's team-leading 10th of the season, while the assist was Isaacson's second.
After Pappalardo made four saves on three different players to start the second half, Brandeis scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 63rd minute. Edalati tracked a ball down in the corner and sent a perfect cross through the goal mouth to a waiting Robinson, who one-timed it home for her first career goal. The assist was Edalati's fourth, tying her with Spital for the team lead.
As the game progressed, Brandeis looked to take control, but the Lasers had a key momentum shift in the 74th minute. Pappalardo was called for a foul inside the six-yard box, giving the Judges a penalty kick. The Lasell sophomore immediately atoned for the error by stopping the ensuing PK.
The Lasers went on to get their only three shots on goal over the next two minutes. Brandeis sophomore Michelle Savuto (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) made saves on rookie Molly Masiero (Richmond, Mass./Monument) and sophomore Kayla Lynch (Dover, N.H./Dover) in the 74th and 75th minutes. Masiero's chip in the 76th minute eluded Savuto, spoiling Brandeis's bid at a school-record 12th shutout of the season.
Lasell was able to keep momentum and work their way deep into the Brandeis zone, but the Judge defense kept the visitors from getting any quality chances. Brandeis added an insurance goal in the 87th minute when Edalati blasted a shot from about 35 yards out into the upper 90. The goal was her sixth of the year, trailing only Spital.
Brandeis finished the game outshooting Lasell, 25-9, after earning a 14-5 margin in the second half. Savuto had two saves for the Judges in the second half after senior Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) was untested in the first. Pappalardo finished with 11 saves, her second-highest total of the season.
Brandeis returns to action on Friday afternoon with a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest against unbeaten and top-ranked Emory University at 4 p.m. Lasell's final regular-season Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest is Thursday at St. Joseph's (Maine) at 3 p.m.
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