BABSON PARK, Mass. (courtesy Babson sports information)- The Brandeis University men's soccer team suffered its second-straight loss today, as the Judges dropped a non-conference decision to host Babson College, 3-2. Beaver first-year forward Eric Anderson (Scituate, Mass.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick to lift the host Beavers in the matchup of longtime non-conference rivals at Hartwell-Rogers Field on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, Babson, ranked ninth in New England by the NSCAA, improved to 9-4-1 overall, while the Judges saw their record drop to 4-6-1.
Just as they did in a 2-1 loss to 11th-ranked Rochester on Saturday, the Judges struck first when sophomore Alexander Farr (Nahant, Mass./St. Johns Prep) gained possession on the right end line off a missed defensive pass from the right corner. The team's leading scorer then slipped a shot from the near post past diving sophomore keeper Peter Crowley (Lexington, Mass.) for the game's first goal at 6:03. It was Farr's sixth of the season and his third-straight game with a goal.
Babson tied the contest in the 23rd minute, beginning when sophomore Salomon Guindi (Mexico City, Mexico) dribbled through the midfield and fed a thru-ball to classmate Billy Nickerson (Middleton, Mass.) on the right side of the box. Nickerson then sent a short pass in front to a wide-open Anderson, who put away the easy score at 22:32.
The Beavers took their first lead of the game less than three minutes later, as Anderson took a feed deep in the box and fired a shot that was blocked. The rebound came right back to the Babson rookie, who buried it from close range to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage at 24:52.
A rare defensive miscommunication led to an own goal that helped Brandeis even the contest early in the second half, as Farr took a throw-in from senior Corey Bradley (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) in the left corner and chipped it toward the box with his back to the goal. Crowley then came out to make the catch, but a collision with a teammate at the near post sent the ball ricocheting across the goal line to tie the score at 2-2 at 47:28.
Babson finally put the game away at the 61-minute mark, as a
free kick from midfield was booted back out to the left side by a
Judges' defender. Babson senior Dan Fogarty (Brookline, N.H.) then
collected it and sent a cross to the near side of the box, where
Anderson headed it into the upper left corner from 15 yards out for
the game-winning goal at 61:05. It was the fifth game-winner of the
season for Anderson, who now leads the Beavers with 11 goals and
two assists for 24 points on the year.
Despite the five goals allowed, both goalies played well, making
numerous stops on close-range breakaways. Crowley finished with
five saves in the victory for Babson, while junior Matt
Lynch (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) made seven stops, tying a
season-high in defeat for Brandeis.