WALTHAM, Mass. - Brandeis junior Jaime Batista (Westford, Mass.) scored a late goal to break a scoreless tie and lead the Judges past Lasell College, 1-0. The game, originally slated to be played at Lasell, was moved to Gordon Field because of poor field conditions in Newton.
Brandeis (8-6-2) and Lasell (11-6) played a sloppy game befitting of the weather. The Judges owned an 8-5 advantage in overall shots, but shots-on-goal were even at 4-4. Neither team's early scoring attempts were successful, but three of the Laser's four shots on goal were one-on-goalies efforts that Brandeis rookie Sean O'Hare (Southampton, Mass.) stymied.
The Judges finally broke through in the 82nd minute. After a nice service to the top of the box, senior forward Ben Premo (Florence, Mass.) one-touched the ball to Batista. The junior fired a rocket along ground from just outside the 18-yard line that beat a diving Laser goalie Matthew Bruninghouse (Plymouth, Mass.) just inside the far post. The goal was Batista's third of the season, tallying one in each of the last three Brandeis contests.
O'Hare finished with four saves and the first complete-game shutout of his career. Bruninghouse made three stops in the losing effort, as the Lasers' seven-match winning streak came to an end.
Brandeis returns to University Athletic Association (UAA) play Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. when they host unbeaten and sixth-ranked Emory University. Lasell hosts Johnson & Wales University in the quarterfinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.