NYU’s men’s soccer team concluded the regular season strong after shutting out the Brandeis Judges 3-0 on Saturday, Nov. 5. 

The win marked back-to-back victories for the Violets, after the team defeated Washington University last weekend. In the last five conference games, NYU went 3-0-2 and picked up 11 points in the United Athletic Association conference standings to end the 2022 campaign in third place. 

In Saturday’s match, the Violets dominated the entire game and allowed just one shot on goal. With less than a minute and a half left to go in the first half, senior forward Talal Said buried a shot into the back of the net with an assist from senior midfielder Alex Rovirosa-Illa to put the Violets up 1-0. It was Said’s first goal of the season.

Within five minutes of the start of the second half, sophomore forward Nathan Bennett increased the NYU lead to 2-0 with a goal, assisted by junior forward Arkan Tahsildaroglu. In addition to his assist, Tahsildaroglu tacked on a final goal in the closing minutes of the match as the Violets came away with the 3-0 win. 

As a team, NYU outshot Brandeis 14 to 10 and put seven shots on goal. 

The third place finish in the UAA for NYU is tied for the best finish since head coach Kim Wyant took over in 2015. The Violets also closed out last season in third place. 

The Violets now turn their focus to the NCAA Tournament in hopes that they will receive an at-large bid. Should they qualify for the tournament, it would be NYU’s second consecutive trip to the postseason and third berth in the last four seasons. In last year’s tournament, the Violets took down Saint Joseph’s College of Maine by a score of 3-2 in overtime in the first round. 

The full 64-team bracket will be finalized by Monday, Nov. 7 at 1:30 p.m. during the NCAA’s selection show.

Contact Nicole Ranile at [email protected].