Looking for its first conference win, the Washington University men’s soccer team went into overtime against No. 3 Brandeis University before eventually falling 2-1 on Friday. But the Bears took care of business on Sunday with a 2-0 win against New York University to push their overall and UAA conference records to 8-6-2 and 1-4-1, respectively.

Stephen Huber | Student Life

Freshman Kevin Maedomari fights for the ball with a defender aginst Brandeis University on Friday. The Bears lost in overtime after conceding an own goal late in regulation.

Junior midfielder Jack West scored on a penalty kick for the Bears in the 60th minute of the game against Brandeis. A foul was called in the Brandeis penalty box after West threatened to score on a break. West took advantage of the ensuing penalty shot, beating the Brandeis keeper to score his eighth goal of the year.

As the game progressed, Brandeis played more aggressively, pressuring the Bears to stay in their own half.

“We hoped to keep the attack going in the second half,” head coach Joe Clarke said. “However, they became more motivated and energetic, and we struggled to break out against them later.”

The Red and Green’s defense responded well to the high volume of Brandeis attacks. Sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Geannon saved a near goal in the 76th minute, and the Bears’ center backs cleared multiple crosses into the box.

However, Brandeis found its break when a low cross from the right side of the field deflected off of a Wash. U. defender for an own goal with just 41 seconds left on the clock. The goal made it 1-1, forcing the game into overtime. Six minutes into overtime, Brandeis headed in a cross to earn the road win.

Despite the loss, junior midfielder Jack West was optimistic about the team competing for 96 minutes with the third-ranked team in the country.

“We were in an offensive mindset the whole game,” West said. “We were outplaying them, but they were able to score on a fluke goal. They’re ranked No. 3 for a reason, but we said that we could beat them and we almost did.”

Clarke echoed West’s thoughts, saying, “We know they are a good passing team, but we forced turnovers and we played touch football. The team played an excellent game; they didn’t play like they were afraid.”

The Bears had better luck against NYU. Senior midfielder and team captain Jonathan Lipsey scored in the 13th and 65th minutes after multiple close chances from the Bears earlier in the game, giving him four goals on the year.

Speaking about the win, Lipsey said, “It feels good to win in front of the Senior Day crowd. We’ve had bad luck in league play, but I’m glad we were able to win in front of the parents. This team is better than the results indicate, and I think this game proved that today.”

The Bears will finish their season next week at home against rival University of Chicago.