WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's soccer team finished its 2024 season with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of their University Athletic Association rivals #18-ranked NYU on Gordon Field today on their Senior Day.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 9-7-1, 0-6-1 UAA.
• NYU, 10-2-6, 2-2-3 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brandeis got on the board with the only goal of the first half. In the 23^rd minute off a corner kick, first-year forward Laurene Creteau (Madison, N.J./Madison) saw her shot blocked. It caromed directly to graduate student Sydney Lenhart (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic), who blasted it into the open net for her second goal of the season and the 16^th of her career.
• The Judges took the lead into the break despite getting outshot, 10-5, thanks to five saves for senior Hannah Bassan (Aventura, Fla./NSU University School).
• The Violets played even more aggressively in the second half, outshooting the Judges, 15-2.
• The play paid off when the visitors equalized in the 52^nd minute. Eileen Xu played a perfect through-ball to Kelli Keady, who went 1-on-1 with Brandeis grad student Rachel Ross (Portchester, N.Y./Somers). Keady slipped the ball into the right side under Ross for her seventh goal of the year.
• The game-winning goal came in the 80^th minute, when NYU's Carmen Cicerini took a ball at midfield, played it over the defense and ran it down herself, depositing past Ross for her first goal of the season.
• The Judges were unable to spend much more time in the offensive zone to find an equalizer of their own, as they dropped their sixth game in seven UAA contests.
• NYU finished with a 25-7 shooting advantage, including 10-3 on goal.
• Bassan finished with five saves, while Ross made three in the second half in the losing effort. NYU's Riley Felsher had two stops to earn the win.

SENIOR DAY

• Before the game, Brandeis honored seven players who were playing their final career home game. They were:
  • Junior midfielder Elspeth Harker (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./ The Albany Academies for Girls)
  • Senior forward Dominque Paglia (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy)
  • Grad student Sydney Lenhart (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic)
  • Senior back Rachel Watler (Stevenson Ranch, Calif./West Ranch)
  • Senior goalie Hannah Bassan (Aventura, Fla./NSU University School)
  • Grad student goalie Rachel Ross (Portchester, N.Y./Somers)
  • And senior forward Aki Yamaguchi (New York, N.Y./Stuyvesant).