AMHERST, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer tournament today with a 1-0 victory over Western Connecticut State University at Amherst College. The Judges (15-2-3, ranked No. 11 in Division 3 by the NSCAA, No. 13 by D3soccer.com) will meet host Amherst (11-3-2, No. 16 in NSCAA poll) tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the second round. Western Conn. ends its season with a 16-6-1 mark.

The Judges got all the scoring they would need in the 25^th minute. Junior forward Lea McDaniel (Phoenix, Ariz./Chapparal) took over the team lead with her seventh goal of the season as she converted a nice through ball from classmate Cidney Moscovitch (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Glades).

That was all the Brandeis defense needed, as they held the Colonials to just eight shots, while the Judges finished with 27. Brandeis junior Alexis Grossman (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) was solid in net, making four saves, including three in the second half. The Judges also got a ball cleared off the line in the 66^th minute by rookie Hannah Maatallah (Wilton, Conn. / Wilton). The shutout was Grossman's 11^th of the season – a Brandeis single-season record - and the team's 13^th, one shy of a school record.  The Judges stifled a WCSU squad that had scored 48 goals in their 22 games this season.

The Judges are looking to advance past the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012, when they also played their regional matches at Amherst. That year, the host Lord Jeffs were upset in the first round. Today, they defeated Colby-Sawyer College, 1-0, to move to the second round for the third year in a row.