WALTHAM, Mass. -- For the eighth time in the last nine seasons, the Brandeis University women's soccer team is headed to the NCAA Division III tournament. The Judges, who finished the regular season with an 11-4-2 record, 4-3 and third place in the University Athletic Association, earned a Pool 'C' at-large bid and will face Farmingdale State College on Saturday, November 13th at Steinbrenner Field at MIT in Cambridge. Game time is expected to be 1:30 p.m.
The Judges enter the tournament on a five-match winning streak, including a pair of wins over nationally-ranked foes in that stretch. In head coach Mary Shimko '14's second season – first on the field – the Judges are ranked 20th in Division III by the United Soccer Coaches and 24th by D3Soccer.com.
The Judges are led by senior forward Juliette Carreiro (Upton, Mass./Nipmuc Regional), who finished the season tied for the UAA lead with eight assists, to go with six goals, giving her 20 points, seventh-most in the conference. Senior midfielder Daria Bakhtiari (Wilmington, Mass./Central Catholic) led the Judges with seven goals, tied for seventh in the UAA, while sophomore forward Yasla Ngoma (North Plainfield, N.J. / Oak Knoll) tallied five goals and five assists for 15 points in her first season on the pitch. Defensively, first-year goalkeeper Hannah Bassan (Aventura, Fla./NSU University School) posted a 1.07 goals-against average with 41 saves for a .719 save percentage. She had three solo shutouts and two combined shutouts on the season.
The Judges played the second-toughest schedule in Division III this season, facing seven teams who qualified for the NCAA tournament, including five UAA opponents (Carnegie Mellon, Case Western Reserve, Chicago, Emory and Washington University), regional host MIT, and Lesley, going 3-3-1 against those teams. Brandeis foes finished with a .700 winning percentage.
Farmingdale State earned their berth in the NCAA tournament by winning the Skyline Conference with a 15-7 record overall, 10-0 in the conference. The Rams are led by Skyline Rookie and Offensive Player of the Year, Jazzmine Terrell, who led the team with 13 goals, 32 points and four game-winning goals. Junior Julissa Martinez was just behind Terrell with 12 goals, 30 points and four game-winners. Sophomore Taylor Berry was named Skyline Defensive Player of the Year, anchoring a defense that eight shutouts and allowed just two goals in conference play. The Rams are 1-4 against teams in the NCAA tournament field, with a win over Lynchburg and losses to Carnegie Mellon, Trinity (Texas), Scranton and Western Connecticut State.
Brandeis has a 10-8-2 record all-time in the NCAA tournament. The Judges advanced to the Final Four in 2016 and the Elite Eight in 2012. Brandeis and Farmingdale State met in the first round of the NCAA tournament in the Judges' last appearance in 2018, with the Rams pulling out a 1-0 victory despite getting outshot 13-3. Brandeis and regional host MIT met earlier this year on Sept. 1 in the season opener for both teams, and they battled to a 2-2 draw in a downpour on Brandeis's Gordon Field. MIT will meet Maine Maritime in the first round. The winners of the two first-round matches will face off on Sunday, November 14th at 1 p.m. with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line.