WALTHAM, Mass. - Brandeis University sophomore midfielder
Mimi Theodore (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) scored the
game's only goal 65 seconds into the second half and the Judges
were able to withstand a furious push by the visiting New York
University Violets to earn a 1-0 win in a University Athletic
Association contest that ended the regular season for both teams.
After an evenly-played first half in which Brandeis outshot NYU,
8-7, and in which no fouls were called, the Judges struck early in
the second half. The play was set up by Brandeis senior
Melissa Gorenkoff (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset).
Gorenkoff dribbled the ball down the right side of the field and
turned into the box. She put a perfect cross in front of the net,
and Theodore headed it home for her team-leading ninth goal of the
season and second game-winner. For Gorenkoff, it was her eighth
assist of the campaign and the 26th of her career,
extending her career record total.
After the goal, NYU dominated play. The Violets finished the
half with a 12-4 shooting advantage, including five shots on net. A
key exchange came between the 49th and 60th
minutes, when NYU took four of their seven second-half corner
kicks. Brandeis senior Hillary Rosenzweig (Boca
Raton, Fla./Spanish River) had several nice plays in the stretch,
including tipping one bending corner by Violet rookie Serra Tumay
(Delray beach, Fla./St. Andrews School) over the crossbar. Later,
the Brandeis backs were able to clear two of the visitors' attempts
off the line, with sophomore Ali Maresca (Wyckoff,
N.J./Ramapo) stymieing Violet senior captain Lucy Dolly Caires
(Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School) and classmate Francesca
Shin (Bayside, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cardozo) turning back
Tumay. The Judges also got lucky when NYU junior Laura Palumbo
(Brooklyn, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall Acad.) hit the crossbar on an
attempt. Brandeis was able to even out possession for the final 30
minutes, but it wasn't until Rosenzweig made a stop on NYU junior
Filiz Kipcakli (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) in the
89th minute that the shutout - the 21st of
her career - was secured.
Brandeis (9-6-3, 3-3-1 UAA) and NYU (9-8-1, 0-6-1 UAA) await
possible ECAC tournament postseason berths on Monday. Brandeis
could finish as high as tied for third or as low as fifth in the
UAA depending the results of the Chicago-Washington and
Rochester-Case matches. NYU will finish eighth in the conference.
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