Aaron Schaffer, Staff Photographer
Women’s soccer took on the Brandeis University Judges on Saturday, Sept. 29 in Fauver Stadium, culminating in a 0-1 upset for the ’Jackets in their first University Athletic Association (UAA) game of the season. They also played the Nazareth College Golden Flyers on Tuesday, Oct. 2, which ended in a score of 1-0.
On Saturday, the Judges took control early after taking the kick off and moved swiftly toward the UR goal, but were thwarted by an easy save from senior goalie Bridget Lang. The yellow and blue narrowly avoided another close call when Brandeis midfielder Sapir Edalati made a break for the goal, passing the ball to forward Dara Spital who took the shot, but was offsides.
Play continued uneventfully for the majority of the first half as possession bounced back and forth between the two teams, save for a handful of close calls for both the ’Jackets and the Judges.
There was a spark of hope for UR at the 16-minute mark, during which senior defender Alaina Wayland booted in a shot after junior forward and midfielder Grace Van Der Ven took a corner kick, which was deflected by the Judges only to find its way back to Wayland, with no luck.
Lang dominated the goal through the first 45 minutes and into the second half, blocking shot after shot from Brandeis, boasting a total of 10 saves by the end of the game.
Spital got a shot off with 1:06 remaining in the first half, but Lang came through for the ’Jackets yet again, fumbling the ball for a moment, but grabbing it out of the Judges’ reach in the nick of time. The first half ended uneventfully with a quick tussle at the 40-yard line with a 0-0 stalemate.
UR came into the second half with a renewed fire. The yellow and blue were able to keep their footing in the Judges’ half for longer periods of time, but still couldn’t quite get the ball in the back of the net.
The nil-nil stalemate held steady for much of the second half with quick bouts of possession for each team. Both the ’Jackets and the Judges made attempts on goal, but neither could close the deal.
However, the tides turned at 79:05 when Brandeis midfielder Sapir Edalati sent a pass to Spital on the left side of the box, who smacked a solid shot into the back of the net 10 yards off the line.
The last 15 minutes played out with a few final attempts on goal for each team, but the game ended in a win for the Judges, putting the Yellowjackets at a 2-7 overall record and a 0-1 UAA record.
“The team played very well from 18 to 18 with quality possession and build up, but didn’t generate enough chances on goal to get a result,” head coach Thomas Dardaganis said. “The defense and Bridget Lang did a nice job of forcing mostly shots from distance and only a few opportunities that tested our keeper. Ultimately, it was a strong individual play from the Brandeis forward that created a good look at goal that she buried.”
In their match-up against Nazareth, senior forward and midfielder Heather Alico made the winning goal off a corner kick from Van Der Ven at 3:58 and the Golden Flyers couldn’t catch up as the Yellowjackets took control of the ball for much of the game.
The ’Jackets outshot Nazareth 12-5 overall and Lang made a total of three saves, earning her third shutout of the season.
Women’s soccer will take on New York University in an away game on Oct. 6.
Goldin is a member of the class of 2013.
