WALTHAM, Mass. – In a showdown between a pair of top-25 teams, 23rd-ranked Brandeis University women's soccer team suffered just its third loss of the season, 2-0, to 15th-ranked Emory, 2-0, in University Athletic Association action today. The Judges fall to 10-3-1, 2-2 in the UAA, while Emory improves to 11-1-2, 2-1-1 in the league.
The first half saw action on both ends of the field, with Emory taking a 9-6 edge in shots, including 5-2 in shots on goal. Both teams had solid attempts on free kicks in the first 20 minutes, with Brandeis junior back Fran Shin (Bayside, N.Y./Cardozo) getting stopped in the 13th minute from the sideline deep in the offensive zone. Emory sophomore midfielder Lee Bachouros (Westlake, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) was denied from 30 yards out in the 19th minute. The Eagles nearly broke through in the 33rd minute when junior forward Liz Harland (Miscanopy, Fla./Eastside) hit a post.
The visitors finally broke through in at the 36:26 mark. After Brandeis netminder Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) stopped an initial shot by EU rookie forward Veronica Romero (Tucker, Ga./St. Pius X), sophomore back Ashley Kaiser (Osprey, Fla./Pine View) tapped the ball to rookie forward Kelly Costopoulos (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton Community), who buried her second goal of the season.
The Eagles kept up pressure the rest of the game, outshooting the Judges 14-1 the rest of the way. They finally broke through for an insurance goal in the 74th minute. Junior forward Caroline Coates (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek) dribbled along the end line, beat a defender and slid the ball to a wide-open Costopoulos on the back post. She buried it for her second of the game and third of the season.
Kofinas finished with nine saves for the Judges, a season high. Emory sophomore Erica Stein (Oakton, Va./Oakton) made two stops in the first half to earn the win, while classmate Kaele Leonard (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community) was untested in the second.
Brandeis returns to action with a non-conference showdown on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. against Bowdoin College, while Emory hosts Berry College next Saturday.