Late Maddox Yu Goal Gives Brandeis 2-1 UAA win at CWRU to Clinch Best Season Since 2019

Late Maddox Yu Goal Gives Brandeis 2-1 UAA win at CWRU to Clinch Best Season Since 2019

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Adam Levin '94

The Brandeis University men's soccer team got a late goal from sophomore Maddox Yu to earn a 2-1 University Athletic Association (UAA) victory on the road at Case Western Reserve today.

TEAM RECORDS
  • Brandeis, 8-5-2, 4-2 UAA.
  • Case Western Reserve, 5-5-5, 0-3-3 UAA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The host Spartans went ahead in the 27th minute on some nifty passing from Brandon Kim and Lukas Dalakis that allowed Kysen Kroger to score his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
  • Brandeis answered just over seven minutes later in the 34th minute. Sophomore back Kenshin Murakawa (Osaka, Japan/Lexington, Mass.) sent a cross from the right side of the field onto the head of junior Nico Beninda (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) at the far post. Beninda slammed it home for his team-leading fifth goal of the campaign.
  • Both goalies kept their teams in the game for the rest of the half and the majority of the second.
  • CWRU's Bradley Winter had back-to-back stops on Beninda early in the first half to keep the game scoreless.
  • Brandeis senior Quintin Wrabley (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) denied Kroger his second goal of the game with a leaping save at the upper-left corner in the 54th minute.
  • The Judges finally broke the deadlock in the 84th minute. Junior Elan Romo (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) had some nice footwork at the top of the box to get open for a shot at the near post. Winter made the initial save, but Yu was on the spot to blast home the ensuing rebound to put the Judges on top.
  • The goal was Yu's third of the season and his first career game-winner.
  • Wrabley finished with six saves and a goal allowed on 10 CWRU shots, while Winter had nine stops and two goals allowed on 18 Brandeis attempts.
  • The Judges also had a 6-5 edge in corner kicks overall. They were on the front foot for the second half, outshooting CWRU 9-2 and owning a 3-0 corner kick advantage in the final 45 minutes.
  • With their eighth win, the Judges clinch their best record since 2019. Their four UAA wins are the most in a season since 2017.
  • The Judges are still alive for a share of the 2024 UAA title. With a win over NYU next weekend and an Emory loss to Rochester, the Judges could claim a share of the conference title for just the third time. Emory has already locked up the UAA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Judges.