WALTHAM, Mass.—The No. 12 NSCAA/No. 13 D3soccer.com Brandeis University women's soccer team scored three goals in the span of 6:04 late in the first half en route to a 3-0 victory over visiting Babson College in non-conference women's soccer action on Tuesday afternoon at Gordon Field.
With the win, Brandeis (8-0-0) matched the 2004 squad for the third-best start in program history behind the 2003 team that opened the campaign 9-0-0 and the 1985 team that was 10-0-0. Babson (6-2-1), which is ranked eighth in the most recent NSCAA regional poll, saw its three-game unbeaten streak snapped.
First-year Hannah Maatallah (Wilton, Conn.) and junior Lea McDaniel (Phoenix, Ariz.) each scored once and contributed an assist, while and senior Melissa Darling (Weymouth, Mass.) added a goal for the Judges. Junior goalkeeper Alexis Grossman (Syosset, N.Y.) did not have to make a save to post her fifth consecutive clean sheet.
Beavers' first-year goalkeeper Elizabeth Mycock (Windham, Maine) made six second-half saves in relief of classmate Maddison Gierschick (Hopkinton, Mass.), who stopped four shots in the opening 45 minutes.
The Green and White, which had conceded just two goals over its first eight matches, defended well in the early going before Brandeis broke the game open with three quick strikes. McDaniel converted a feed from Maatallah in the 30th minute for her team-leading fifth goal of the year and a 1-0 lead.
Darling notched her first goal of the season off a pass from McDaniel just over three minutes later to make it a two-goal game, and Maatallah followed with her second tally of the year in the 36th minute to give the Judges a commanding 3-0 lead.
Brandeis finished the match with a 30-2 edge in shots and a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Smith at 11:30 a.m., while the Judges will take on Tufts in the second of five straight home games at 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES
- Brandeis is now 20-17-3 all-time against Babson and has won four straight matches in the series going back to 2010.
- The Judges are now 12-1-1 in their last 14 home games and have conceded just four goals during that stretch.
- Babson entered the game ranked third nationally in shutout percentage (0.875) and 12th among Division III teams in goals against average (0.24)
- The loss was the first on the road for the Beavers in 13 games dating back to 10/26/13.
-- Courtesy Jeremy Viens, Babson Sports info