Posted: Sep 29, 2010
WELLESLEY, Mass. (courtesy Wellesley College
sports information) – A goal from rookie reserve forward
Hilary
Andrews (New Bedford, Mass./Dartmouth) in the 36th
minute proved to be the difference as Brandeis University handed
Wellesley soccer a hard-fought 1-0 loss on Wednesday afternoon on
the Blue's home turf. The win
lifts the Judges, ranked second in New England 18th in the nation
to 7-1-1 overall, while the
loss drops the Blue to 4-4-1 on the season.
The teams traded shots in the opening minutes of the game, but neither could find the net as Wellesley's Sarah Gray (Montclair, Va.) and Brandeis' Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) traded saves. The game remained scoreless until 36:07, when Andrews took a shot off a long pass from senior midfielder Ellie Einhorn (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Park). Gray blocked the initial effort, but Andrews scored her second career goal on the rebound to give Brandeis a 1-0 halftime lead.
The
Blue seemed to gain the upperhand at the start of the second
period, taking three shots on goal through the through the first
eight minutes. But Kofinas continued to hold the Blue
scoreless with three consecutive saves. After a shot by
Wellesley's Megan Turchi (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) sailed
wide at 61:01, the Judges held the Blue offense in check, not
allowing a shot for the next 24 minutes. Wellesley made a late
surge, but two more saves from Kofinas secured the Judges the 1-0
win, her first collegiate shutout.
Brandeis out-shot the Blue 13-9, while Kofinas and Gray recorded eight saves each. Gray allowed one goal in the loss.
Brandeis returns to action on Saturday at
11:00am, when the Judges host UAA rival Case Western Reserve
University in the league opener for both squads. The Blue take
the field on Saturday at 1:00pm, when they host Springfield College
as part of Wellesley Homecoming festivities.