WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Brandeis University men's soccer team will return to the NCAA Division III tournament this year for the first time since 2017. The Judges earned an at-large bid to the Big Dance and will host a tournament regional on Saturday, November 15, and Sunday, November 16.
Brandeis (9-3-5), one of four University Athletic Association teams in the tournament, will meet Stevens (9-3-6), champions of the MAC Freedom Conference on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The first game of the day will put the top-ranked and NESCAC champions from Tufts University (14-1-3) against Penn State-Harrisburg (11-6-3), champions of the United East Conference.
The Judges were nationally-ranked by the United Soccer Coaches for much of the season. They entered the rankings at #18 after getting off to a 7-0-2 start, and were as high as #5 after a 0-0 draw with Case Western Reserve moved their record to 9-1-4 before finishing with a 9-3-5 mark. The Judges have played seven games against other NCAA tournament teams, posting a 3-2-2 record. They defeated Babson, Bridgewater State and Wesleyan, tied Wheaton (Mass.) and Emory, and lost to Washington U. and Chicago. Four of Brandeis's nine wins and two ties came when their opponents scored the first goal of the game.
Brandeis has featured a balanced scoring attack this season, with 12 different players scoring goals. Senior
Nico Beninda (Monroe Township, N.J.) led the team with five goals and two assists for 12 points, while classmate
Rainer Osselmann-Chai (Acton, Mass.) had four goals and three assists for 11 points. Senior
Tyler Correnti (West Newbury, Mass.) started 16 of 17 games in goal and finished with 44 saves and a 1.20 goals-against average.
The Judges will be making their 16th all-time appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, but first since 2017. Brandeis has been to the Final Four five times in their history, winning a title in 1976, finishing second in 1984 and third in 1981. They went to back-to-back Final Fours in 2016 and 2017, the latter season being
Gabe Margolis's first as head coach after 11 years as an assistant under legendary head coach
Michael Coven.
This will mark the first-ever meeting between Brandeis and Stevens, though the Ducks traveled to Waltham in 2015, falling to Rensselaer in the first round, 2-1. The sides have one common opponent, NYU. Stevens defeated the Violets, 3-2, on Sept. 27, while Brandeis and NYU played to a 1-1 draw on Nov. 8.
Brandeis has also never met Penn State-Harrisburg. Brandeis and Tufts have faced off 42 times in the past, dating back to 1954, but the Judges and Jumbos have not met since 2021. The two sides met at Tufts in the 2017 NCAA tournament, with Brandeis winning, 1-0, on a goal with just over a minute left in the second overtime period.
Ticket prices for the games are still to be determined.
Coverage of the game - LiveStats and video - will be available on NCAA.com.
The full NCAA Division III tournament bracket is available at https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/soccer-men/d3/2025.
