Homecoming athletics mix triumphs, defeats

Women's team down Carnegie Mellon; men record a loss and a tie

On a big University Athletic Association weekend on campus, Brandeis teams shone on many fronts.

The weekend began on Friday night with a soccer doubleheader against Carnegie Mellon University. On a cold, rainy evening, the 23rd-ranked Brandeis women opened the festivities with a 1-0 victory over the Tartans.  Senior forward Tiffany Pacheco provided all the scoring the Judges would need. Less than three minutes into the second half, Pacheco's corner kick bent into the net for her seventh goal of the season.  With the score, Pacheco moved into a tie with Melissa Delowe '03 for fourth place on the Brandeis all-time scoring list with 79 points (28 goals, 23 assists). Her 28 career goals tie her for seventh place with Tina Mowrey '93 and Erin McKenna '94.

In the ensuing men's game, Brandeis outplayed 21st-ranked CMU, outshooting the Tartans, 13-6, but neither side was able to find the back of the net in regulation.

Unfortunately for the hosts, it was a Carnegie Mellon header off a corner kick in the third minute of overtime that provided the golden goal and a 1-0 loss for the Judges.

On Saturday and Sunday, the volleyball team hosted the second University Athletic Association Round Robin. In their team matches, the Judges could not overcome injuries that beset them throughout the weekend, falling to Case Western Reserve, 3-1, to23rd-ranked NYU, 3-0, to 2nd-ranked Emory, 3-0, and to Carnegie Mellon, 3-1. With these results, Brandeis is 13-11 overall, 1-6 in the UAA, and will be the seventh seed in the 2010 UAA tournament in a few weeks.

While the team results were not what the Judges were looking for, a pair of individual milestones was reached. Senior Nicole Smith recorded 17 blocks over the weekend, becoming the Judges' all-time leader with 409 for her career. Classmate Paige Blasco became just the eighth member of Brandeis's 1,000-kill club, recording 59 over the weekend to reach a career total of 1,054 in just three seasons of action.

In other action, the Case Western Reserve University Spartans, under head coach Karen Chambers Farrell '93, handed top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Washington University their second loss of the season.

The Sunday soccer pitch saw a trio of nationally-ranked teams in action, as the 15th-ranked Emory women took on 23rd-ranked Brandeis  in the women's game, while the ninth-ranked Eagle men faced the unranked Judges on a perfect fall day. In the opener, the Brandeis women suffered their first home loss of the campaign, 2-0, to the Eagles. After a tight first half, Emory got on the board in the 37th minute, popping home a rebound after a fine initial save by sophomore Francine Kofinas. The visitors kept up their offensive pressure, outshooting Brandeis, 14-1, the rest of the way. Despite a season-high nine saves by Kofinas, Emory added an insurance goal in the 74th minute to take the win. Brandeis emerges from the weekend with a record of 10-3-1 – their fifth-straight 10-win season – and 2-2 in the UAA, currently in a tie for fifth place.

In the ensuing men's game, Brandeis got off to a flying start. Just 2:30 into the contest, junior forward Luke Teece intercepted an Eagle back-pass to the goalkeeper. He chipped it over the Emory netminder, scoring just the fourth goal allowed by EU all season. It was Teece's team-leading eighth goal of the season and his third in UAA play, tied for most in the Association. Brandeis senior goalie Taylor Bracken kept the Judges in the game, making six saves. The one stop he was unable to make came at the 57:01 mark. After an Emory player was hauled down just inside the box, the Eagles converted the ensuing penalty kick to score the equalizer. Both teams had their shots to win in overtime, but neither was able to break the deadlock. Brandeis emerges from the weekend with a record of 7-4-1, 1-2-1 in the UAA, tied for sixth place, but just two points out of third.