WALTHAM, Mass. - The Brandeis University women's soccer team scored on two straight shots late in the first half and scored twice more in the second tonight as the second-seeded Judges defeated No. 7 seed St. Joseph (Conn.) College, 4-0, in a quarterfinal of the ECAC New England Division III Women's Soccer tournament.
Brandeis owned a commanding 18-3 shot advantage in the first half. St. Joseph actually got off three of the first four shots of the game, with Brandeis rookie Allison Maresca (Wycoff, N.J.) clearing a rebound attempt by Blue Jay junior Amanda Couto (Lebanon, Conn.) off the line in the fifth minute.
The Judges settled down and did not allow the visitors another attempt in the first. Sophomore back Taryn Martiniello's (Wilmington, Mass.) corner kick was headed out by SJC senior defender Emily Johnson (Avon, Conn.) in the 33rd minute. Brandeis eventually broke through in the 41st minute. Rookie Francesca Shin (Bayside, N.Y.) made her first collegiate goal a game-winner as she took an angled shot that went across the goalmouth and into the netting inside the far post. Junior Melissa Gorenkoff (Woodbury, N.Y.) picked up the assist.
On Brandeis's next shot, Gorenkoff would add her fifth goal of the season. In the 44th minute, she sent the ball high in the air from about 25 yards. It went through the hands of the goalie and into the net to give the Judges a two-goal cushion.
Brandeis kept up the pressure in the second half. Rookie Kaitlin Oldfield (Raymond, N.H.), who found iron with several shots in the game, put home her own rebound in the 59th minute. Her initial shot, an acrobatic attempts, was saved and deflected off the crossbar back to Oldfield's feet. Rookie Ali Theodore (Walpole, Mass.) closed out the scoring in the 80th minute, when she collected a service by Oldfield and slid it under the diving netminder.
Brandeis junior Hillary Rosenzweig (Boca Raton, Fla.) made four saves in posting her fourth-straight postseason shutout. SJC junior Cait Witham (Prospect, Conn.) had 15 saves in the losing effort. Brandeis finished the game with a 38-6 margin in shots and 8-1 in corner kicks.
Brandeis improves to 11-7-2 on the season. The defending ECAC champions will take on sixth-seeded Emmanuel College, 3-2 winners over No. 3 Fitchburg State, on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. St. Joseph closes out its campaign at 14-5-3.