Women's Soccer Falls to #10 Brandeis, 3-0

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Junior Sapir Edalati (Great Neck, N.Y.) scored two second-half goals in a ten-minute span tonight and classmate Michelle Savuto (Ridgewood, N.J.) had a career-high nine saves to lead the Brandeis University women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater State University.

Brandeis, which cracked the top 10 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for the first time in the regular season at No. 10, improves to 4-0 on the season. BSU falls to 0-2 on the campaign.

Although Brandeis outshot the Bears in the first half, 8-6, the visitors had the better of their chances, putting all six attempts on net. Savuto stopped all six efforts, however, including a pair on Bridgewater State sophomore Mackenzie Hatfield (Whitman, Mass.). In the tenth minute, Savuto made a diving save on a free kick from about 20 yards. In the 29th, she came off her line to the edge of the 18-yard box. An initial deflection fell to Hatfield's foot, but Savuto leapt to block the ball wide once again, allowing the Brandeis defense to clean up behind her.

Hatfield had the first scoring chance of the second half, but Savuto denied her again in the 47th minute. This time the Judge junior dove to her left to deflect the ball wide past the far post.

Brandeis finally connected less than 90 seconds later at the 47:53 mark. On a free kick taken by senior midfielder Mary Shimko (Bay Village, Ohio), Edalati found herself free at the top of the box. Edalati laced a kick past BSU sophomore Marissa Yowell (Ashland, Mass.) for her fourth goal of the season. The score proved to be her second-straight game-winner and the fourth of her career.

Each team had two more shots on net over the next ten minutes before Edalati scored an insurance goal in the 58th minute. After a nice service from junior forward Dara Spital (Miami, Fla.), Edalati lofted a high shot that Yowell leapt to get a hand on but proved to be just out of her reach. It marked Edalati's second-straight multi-goal game and the third of her career.

The Judges added an insurance goal in the 67th minute when sophomore Melissa Darling (Weymouth, Mass.) sent a ball from the right sideline that bent into the left netting.

Savuto made three more saves in the second half to finish with a career-high nine stops. The shutout was her third of the season and of her career. Yowell finished with three stops in the losing effort for the Bears.

Brandeis returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 15, at home against Bates College at 1 p.m. Bridgewater State plays their first home game on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. against Plymouth State.