From Brandeis University Athletics
In a battle of streaking teams, the host Brandeis University women's soccer team defeated the top-ranked squad in New England from Bowdoin College, 1-0, on Gordon Field today. The Judges won their eighth in a row to improve to 8-1, while the Polar Bears, ranked 11 in Division III by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, fall to 6-1.
The first half of the contest was evenly matched, with much of the action coming in the middle third of the field. Brandeis outshot Bowdoin, 4-3, but the Polar Bears had the two best opportunities, putting their final two shots on goal. Bowdoin rookie Bridgit Bergin (Natick, Mass./Noble and Greenough) had a direct shot from 25 yards out in the 44th minute. Then, just 20 seconds before the half expired, Brandeis senior Michelle Savuto (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) stoned Bergin again off a corner kick.
Brandeis came out in the second half and maintained better possession of the ball, eventually outshooting the visitors, 9-2. The Judges had the first three shots of the second, but Bowdoin junior Bridget McCarthy (Hopkinton, Mass./Worcester Acad.) made the only save needed of her in that stretch on a straight-forward attempt in the 47th minute.
The visitors' best chance came in the 71st minute. After earning a deep throw-in, the ball worked free to senior midfielder Alexa Yurick (New York, N.Y./Dalton School) just inside the six-yard box. She sent the ball across the goal mouth, but Brandeis sophomore Alexis Grossman (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) made a spectacular diving save to punch the ball wide of the far post. The Judges fended off the ensuing corner kick to keep Bowdoin at bay.
Brandeis finally solved McCarthy in the 79th minute. After a corner kick from the right side of the field was cleared out by the Bowdoin defense, senior back Emma Eddy (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) found herself open at the right sideline. She sent the ball into the mix, and it went all the way through the box and hit the left post. McCarthy gave chase, but the ball bounced back to Brandeis senior Sapir Edalati (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South), who finished into an empty net.
The goal was Edalati's team-leading sixth of the season, and her third game-winner, tied for the team lead. The score marked the second Saturday home game in a row in which she notched a game-winner in the 79th minute, having done so a week ago against Lesley University. She now ranks 12th on Brandeis's career list with 24 goals and is tied for 13th with 57 points. Her seven career game-winners are tied for 10th. The assist for Eddy was just her second career point.
Bowdoin had one more attempt off the kick-off after Edalati's goal, but Grossman denied sophomore Abby Hammerl (Wenham, Mass./Brooks School).
With the win, Brandeis has won eight in a row for the first time since they won their last five games of 2007 and first four of 2008. It matches the longest single-season winning streak since taking their first eight contests of 2004. Nine in a row to open the 2003 season is the program's longest single-season winning streak. The Judges also snapped a three-match losing streak in their series against Bowdoin.