Women's soccer clinches seventh-straight 10-win season with 4-0 win over Rochester

Emma Spector '20 (Photo by Norman Cohen P'20)
Emma Spector '20 (Photo by Norman Cohen P'20)

WALTHAM, Mass. – the Brandeis University women's soccer team reached the 10-win plateau for the seventh year in a row in emphatic fashion tonight, defeating the visiting University of Rochester Yellowjackets, 4-0, in a University Athletic Association contest on Gordon Field. The Judges – ranked 14th nationally in Division III by the United Soccer Coaches and 15th by D3Soccer.com –  improve to 10-1, 3-0 in the UAA, while the Yellowjackets fall to 6-5-1, 0-3 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Judges scored the only goal they would need late in the first half. In the 44th minute, junior back Amanda Fernbach (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood) played a long ball to sophomore Daria Bakhtiari (Wilmington, Mass./Central Catholic). Bakhtiari headed the ball into space in front of the net, and junior Emma Spector (Needham, Mass./Needham) was there to bury her first goal of the season.
  • Brandeis doubled the lead just 38 seconds into the second half. Rookie Lauren Mastandrea (Hauppage, N.Y. / Hauppage) took a shot that was initially saved by Rochester's Samantha Hlavac, but Judge senior Sasha Sunday (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) pounced on the rebound for her second goal of the season.
  • The Judges added two insurance goals late in the game, with senior Hannah Maatallah (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) scoring in the 73rd minute, her first of the season, and Spector adding a second of the game in the 79th minute.
  • With her second goal of the game, Spector became the first Brandeis player this season to score twice in one contest.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Brandeis controlled play, outshooting Rochester, 26-8, and earning an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.
  • Brandeis junior Sierra Dana (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) made four saves for her third shutout of the season and the ninth of her career.
  • Hlavac made eight saves in the losing effort for UR.
  • The win marked the first time Brandeis has defeated Rochester in back-to-back seasons and was the largest win for the Judges in the series. It's only the second time Brandeis has defeated UR by more than one goal.
  • The Judges have won 10 games in seven years in a row, 12 of the last 13 and 14 out of the last 16.

UP NEXT

  • Brandeis celebrates Senior Day on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they take on Emory University. The Eagles were tied, 1-1, at NYU at the time of writing.