CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The season came to a close for the 2021 Brandeis women's soccer team today, as the 20th-ranked Judges dropped a 2-0 decision to eighth-ranked MIT in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at MIT's Steinbrenner Field. With the loss the Judges finish up at 12-5-2 for the campaign. MIT moves on to the Sectional round with a 21-1-1 record. They will meet another University Athletic Association side, Carnegie Mellon, in the next round.
"It was a tough one, we didn't start off the way we wanted, but for the next 70-80 minutes, we played Brandeis soccer, and for that, we can be proud," said head coach Mary Shimko '14.
After coming from behind to advance yesterday with a 2-1 win over Farmingdale State, the Judges had to do so again today, as MIT scored just 16 seconds into the contest. On their first foray into the offensive end, Meagan Rowlett was pulled down inside the 18-yard box earning a penalty kick. She stepped to the spot and buried it for her 15th goal of the season.
The Engineers got their second goal in the run of play in the eighth minute. After a loose ball came to Natalie Barnouw at the top of the box, she launched a shot that Brandeis rookie Hannah Bassan (Aventura, Fla./NSU University School) got a hand on but was not able to corral completely. It trickled over the goal line for Barnouw's eighth goal of the year.
"We all knew that we were down 2-0, but we've come back from that before," said senior Daria Bakhtiari after the match. "We had belief in each other, we had trust in each other. We held them 0-0 the rest of the game. We had our chances and didn't quite execute them, but we were still really proud of each other and how we played."
After falling behind to MIT's early flurry, the Judges were even with the Engineers in shots, 8-8, with MIT finishing the game with a 12-8 advantage. Bakhtiari used her height to get a head on a pair of corners, in the 12th and 75th minutes, but she went wide on the first and was stopped by MIT's Ava Gilliken on the second. Junior Caroline Swan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pine Richland) had a couple of free kicks that were either off the frame or saved as well. Despite the increased pressure from Brandeis, the MIT defense held the Judges without a shot over the final 15 minutes. Gilliken finished with three saves to post the clean sheet while Bassan made five stops in the losing effort.
"I love everybody on the team, I love my seniors, and I'm ready to come back next year and support my team," reflected Bakhtiari post-match.
"I love their grit, their determination, the love that they have for each other," echoed Shimko "They work hard and play for each other. They have high standards and high goals. It's a group of special people."
The Judges return three of their top five scorers next season in Swan and sophomores Yasla Ngoma (North Plainfield, N.J./Oak Knoll) and Sydney Lenhart (Tucson, Ariz. / Salpointe Catholic), as well as their entire starting back line and goalkeeper.
