Brandeis University

WALTHAM, Mass. – First-year goalkeeper Gianni Nrecaj (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) made a career-high six saves tonight as the Brandeis University men's soccer team battled top-ranked Wesleyan (Conn.) University to a 0-0 draw on Gordon Field.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 2-2-2.
• Wesleyan (Conn.), 3-0-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game was evenly contested throughout. Brandeis had 7-4 edge in shots in the first half, while the Cardinals owned a 12-7 advantage in the second to take a 16-14 margin for the game.
• Nrecaj made an outstanding stop in the 29^th minute, diving to his left to protect an open goal after an initial shot fell to Wesleyan's Ford Cash following a free kick.
• Wesleyan's Sam Adiutori stopped Brandeis junior Jacob Morse (Framingham, Mass./St. George's School, R.I.) in the final minute of the first half to keep the game scoreless.
• Both keepers made stops in the first 5:04 of the second half, as the game went back-and-forth with a frenetic pace.
• The Cardinals got a clearance off the line on a shot in the 67^th minute by junior Aidan Chuang (New York, N.Y./Milton Acad.) to preserve the clean shot.
• Wesleyan had the bulk of the play in the latter stages of the second half, but the Brandeis defense held strong, with Nrecaj denying the visitors' Julian Cauvin in the final minute of regulation.
• The Judges finished with a 5-1 edge in corner kicks, but the home team was whistled for 17 fouls to eight for Wesleyan.
• Brandeis senior Keller Chamovitz (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) had a game-high five shots, Yousuf Saeed had four for Wesleyan.
• Nrecaj's six saves were one more than his previous career-best of five in his previous two appearances. He recorded his first collegiate shutout in the process. Adiutori had four saves for Wesleyan.
• This marked the second time in two seasons that the Judges held a top-ranked team scoreless in regulation on their home field, having done the same to eventual national champions Tufts in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament before falling in double overtime.

UP NEXT

• The Judges play their next two games on the road, starting this Saturday at Skidmore College at 3 p.m.