WALTHAM, Mass.- In a non conference women's soccer matchup at Gordon Field the Brandeis Judges defeated the Endicott Gulls 2-1. Senior midfielder Mimi Theodore (Walpole, Mass./ Walpole) finished a run from the right flank with a drive past Endicott's rookie goalkeeper Katie Donnelly (No. Kingstown, R.I./ No. Kingstown) to score the game winning goal in the 49th minute. The Judges improved to 6-8-1 on the year while the Gulls fell to 10-7.
A physical match was dominated early on by the Gulls who outshot the Judges 15-4 in the first half and earned six corner kicks. Despite the plethora of chances Endicott could not find the net and allowed Brandeis to strike first. In the 27th minute, Brandeis's sophomore midfielder Mary Shimko (Bay Village, Ohio/ Lake Ridge Acad.) played a through ball in towards the box. Sophomore forward Hilary Andrews (New Bedford, Mass./ Dartmouth) broke past Endicott's central defender and beat the keeper to the ball, poking the shot in to the left hand corner of the net for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Andrews' second of the year.
The Gulls' breakthrough came late in the first half off of a free kick. Junior captain Caitlin Peters (Salem, N.H./ Salem) swung a beautiful free kick in to the far post for the feet of for senior forward, and fellow captain, Colleen Pepin (Fairhaven, Mass./ Fairhaven). Pepin took a touch and blasted a shot from point blank range past the Judges' junior goalie Francine Kofinas (Dix Hills, N.Y./ Half Hollow Hills West) to knot the game at one. Her team leading 15th goal of the year in the 41st minute resulted in a tie at the end of the first half.
In the second half, Endicott continued to dominate possession. The Gulls took another 13 shots and earned four more corner kicks in their efforts to break the stalemate. Even though Endicott finished the game with 28 shots to eight for Brandeis and ten corner kicks to just one for the Judges, it was Brandeis's Theodore who provided the difference. The Judges' rookie defender Alec Spivak (Miami, Fl./ Miami Palmetto Senior) took a free kick from just inside the center circle. The perfectly placed ball found the feet of Theodore in stride, streaking in from the right side. Theodore took a touch and found the left corner of the net past a diving Donnelly for the 2-1 advantage.
Brandeis's goalie Kofinas made six saves and allowed one goal in the first half. The Judges' rookie keeper Michelle Savuto (Ridgewood, N.J./ Ridgewood) played a perfect second half saving all three shots she faced to earn the win. Meanwhile, the Gulls' Donnelly had one save and allowed two goals in 58 minutes. Endicott's sophomore goalie Natalie Wyrsch (Dover, N.H./ St. Thomas) played the final 32 minutes of the match.
The Judges travel to Lesley University tomorrow, October 25th, for a nonconference match at 8:00 pm. The Gulls begin their conference tournament at a time to be decided.