BRISTOL, R.I. (taken from an RWU press release) –
For the second time this season, the Brandeis women's soccer team
battled for 110 scoreless minutes as the Judges earned a 0-0 draw
with host Roger Williams University today in the Hawks' home
opener. With the shutout, Brandeis senior Hillary
Rosenzweig (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River) moved into a
tie for second place on the University's career shutout list with
her 18th.
Opportunities to score were abundant for both teams; yet timely
defense and unlucky shots helped keep the game at a stalemate. In
the 11th minute, Judge senior Melissa Gorenkoff
(Woodbury, N.Y.) nearly put the visitors on the board in the
opening half, sending a hard shot from outside of the box high to
the center of the goal. Hawk freshman keeper Kristen Darling
(Weymouth, Mass.) was able to get a leaping hand on the ball,
punching it over the net to keep Brandeis off the scoreboard.
Later on, junior Tiffany Pacheco (Rehoboth,
Mass.) of Brandeis fired a hard shot of her own at Darling in the
33rd minute. The force of the shot ricocheted off of Darling and
almost trickled into the goal before she was able to corral it
in.
In the second half, the Judges’ Mimi
Theodore (Walpole, Mass.) had a clean look at the goal,
taking a shot in the 60th minute that got past Darling, but just
rolled past the left side post. Less than four minutes later, the
Hawks nearly converted an opportunity of their own to put a goal on
the board. Katie Fusaro (Hopkinton, Mass.) outran the defense on a
long pass, forcing Rosenzweig to charge the ball. Though Fusaro was
able to get a foot on the ball before Rosenzweig got to it, the
shot sailed wide left.
The first overtime saw the Hawk offense put pressure on the
defense of Brandeis, getting three shots off in the period. In the
second overtime, the Judges turned the tables on the Hawks,
outshooting RWU 4-1 in the period, including a kick by Pacheco that
sailed wide in the final minute. That offensive possession would be
the final offensive possession of the game, securing the tie.
Darling finished the game with six saves for Roger Williams,
earning her first career shutout. Her counterpart Rosenzweig also
made six saves in the game, recording her 18th career shutout as a
Judge, tying for second on Brandeis’ all-time list and just
one shy of 1992 graduate Justine McBride for the school record.
Roger Williams (3-2-1) will host Anna Maria College Saturday at
3:30 p.m., while Brandeis (3-1-2) is at home Sunday for a 12:00
p.m. game against Clark University.