ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- (taken from a Washington University press release) The Brandeis University women's soccer team defeated host Washington University, 2-0, tonight in a University Athletic Association contest. With the win, the Judges move into sole possession of second place in the UAA with a game at league-leading Chicago on tap for Sunday morning.
The Judges improve to 13-3-1 overall, 3-2 in the conference. The win was Brandeis's first over the Bears since 1997 and first in St. Louis since 1994. The Judges snap a 12-match winless skid against WashU. Washington falls to 9-6-2, 2-1-2 UAA. The Bears had an eight-match unbeaten streak snapped in the process. They had outscored opponents 21-3 in that span.
Brandeis scored in the opening two minutes of the second half, as junior Alanna Torre's (Weston, Fla./American Heritage School) shot from 25 yards out snuck over the head of Washington sophomore goalkeeper Clara Jaques. The goal for Torre was her third of the season, with senior Tiffany Pacheco (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton Rehoboth) picking up the assist, her eighth of the campaign. The Judges nearly made it 2-0 just seven seconds later, as rookie Mary Shimko's (Bay Village, Ohio/Lake Ridge Acad.) shot deflected off the far post.
Brandeis senior Sofia Vallone (Westport, Conn./Staples) netted her conference-leading 16th goal of the year in the 52nd minute to push the advantage to 2-0. Pachecho drilled down the middle of the field and sent a pass to Vallone, who sent a shot from just inside the 18 past Jaques. With the goal, Vallone is now one shy of the school single-season record, set by Melissa DeLowe '04 in 2003, while the second assist of the game ties Pacheco with Melissa Gorenkoff '10 with 28 career helpers.
The Bears drilled the crossbar twice in the final 20 minutes of the second half. Freshman Jen Reed's header off a corner kick went off the crossbar at 73:20, and then sophomore Emily Gosche hammered a shot from 25 yards out at 83:39 off the crossbar.
Washington University outshot Brandeis, 20-19, for the game, and had a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal, but Brandeis sophomore Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) matched her career-high with nine saves to earn her fourth shutout of the season and the team's ninth. Jacques made six saves in the loss for Washington U.
A sluggish first half saw Brandeis outshoot Washington U., 9-5, with the Judges putting three of its nine shots on goal. Neither team had a scoring opportunity in the opening 45 minutes of play.