WALTHAM, Mass. – In a match marred by massive downpours, the Brandeis University women's soccer team battled in its 2021 campaign with a 2-2 draw against MIT, ranked seventh among Division III teams by the United Soccer Coaches. Both teams start their campaign at 0-0-1.
The scoring opened with goals just 1:43 apart in the early going. Less than four minutes into the contest, Brandeis was the beneficiary of an MIT own goal. With rain intensifying, a scrum emerged in front of the net at the 3:57 mark, and an Engineer defender accidentally redirected it into her own net.
At the 5:40 mark, the Engineers answered quickly, as Meagan Rowlett blasted a ball from the top of the 18-yard box past Brandeis rookie goalie Hannah Bassan (Aventura, Fla. / NSU University School).
The Judges went back on top midway through the first half, when sophomore Yasla Ngoma (North Plainfield, N.J. / Oak Knoll) emerged from another pileup in front of the net to slide a ball inside the left post past MIT goalie Ava Gillikin at the 26:52 mark.
After Brandeis held a slim 7-6 advantage in shots in the first half, the visitors had a 9-7 edge in the second. The only goal of the second came just under three minutes into the stanza when Karenna Goff curled a corner kick directly into the net.
Brandeis got off the next three shots of the game, but Gillikin stopped all three to maintain the tie. The Engineers were able to maintain the majority of possession in the latter stages of the second half and the momentum carried into overtime, where the visitors outshot Brandeis, 11-1. Bassan was up the task, however, making four saves in the second OT session, including a terrific diving save on Anna Weinstein in the 106th minute and two more stops in the final two minutes of action.
Bassan finished with eight saves in her first collegiate contest, while Gillikin also had eight stops. MIT finished with a 26-15 lead in shots and 8-2 in corner kicks. The visitors also racked up 14 fouls to five for Brandeis. Ngoma led the Brandeis offense with four shots, two coming on net.
The Judges will look to break into the win column on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Lasell University on Gordon Field.