No. 9 Brandeis Gets Past Washington U. 2-1 With Pair of Second-Half Goals
St. Louis, Mo., October 14, 2012 – No. 9 ranked Brandeis University scored a pair of goals in a span of 5:03 in the second half to get past Washington University in St. Louis 2-1 in University Athletic Association (UAA) men's soccer action on Sunday afternoon at Francis Field in St. Louis.
Brandeis (12-1-1, 2-1-1 UAA) moves into a four-way tie with Carnegie Melon University, Emory University and New York Univerity for first place in the UAA standings, while Washington U. (7-4-1, 2-2 UAA) sits a point back in a two-way tie for fifth place.
Joe Clarke toed the sidelines for his 300th match as head coach at Washington University on Sunday. In 16 seasons at the helm of the Bears' program, Clarke has compiled a record of 184-83-33 (.668). Overall, he has a 389-157-63 (.690) record in his collegiate coaching career, which includes 14 seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division I Saint Louis University.
Brandeis controlled most of the play in the first half taking advantage of the 25-mile per hour wind outshooting Washington U. 13-2, with four shots on goal. The Bears had their first scoring opportunity of the half when sophomore Pay Estakhri got through the Brandeis defense into the box and sent a shot that was wide left.
That was Washington U.'s lone scoring opportunity in the first half, as Brandeis had numerous chances in the final 20 minutes. Kyle Feather was left open in the box at 28:18 but his header went high. Just 32 seconds later, Sam Ocel fired a shot from 25 yards out that was corralled by junior goalkeeper Jonathan Jebson. Ocel was left open again in the 32nd minute for a shot that Jebson saved, and then Tudor Livadaru hit the left post on a shot from 20 yards out in the 36th minute.
Washington U. had the advantage with the wind in the second half, but it was Brandeis who found the net first. A good possession by the Judges in the box payed off as Kyle Feather flicked a pass to Sam Ocel for the first goal of the game at 57:31. A little over five minutes later, Lee Russo scored his team-leading 10th goal of the year for Brandeis to make it 2-0.
The Bears finally got on the scoreboard with 1:39 to play to trim the lead in half. Junior Jeremy Kirkwood headed home a perfectly placed free kick near midfield from sophomore Nik Patel to make it 2-1. The goal for Kirkwood was his second in three games played since returning from an injury.
Jebson made four saves as he suffered the loss in goal for Washington U. Despite being outshot 17-7 for the game, Washington U. did have the shot advantage in the second half (5-4). Brandeis, who averaged a conference-best 8.2 corner kicks per game, also had the 6-1 advantage in corners.
Washington U. closes out its four-match homestand with a non-conference contest against Principia College at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at Francis Field.
Bear Notebook: Washington University leads the all-time series with Brandeis, 17-7-2, and had its six-match winning streak snapped … Brandeis last defeated Washington U., 1-0, in overtime in 2002.
