WALTHAM, Mass. — Senior Kyle Feather (Pinebrook, N.J.) scored the game's only goal and junior Joe Graffy (Concord, N.H.) made it hold up tonight as the Brandeis University men's soccer team defeated visiting Babson College, 1-0, on Gordon Field. With the win, the Brandeis men, ranked third in New England and 19th nationally by the NSCAA, improve to 4-0 on the season. Babson, ranked fourth in the region, falls to 3-1.

      In the 61st meeting between the two rivals, the first half was a scoreless affair, with Brandeis outshooting Babson, 6-4, but the Beavers owned a 2-1 edge in shots on goal. Graffy and Beavers senior Jackson Klein (Maplewood, N.J.) maintained their clean sheets.
 
      In the second half, Graffy opened with a save on Babson's Bryan Rust (Granby, Conn.) in the 52nd minute. In the 55th minute, Feather struck for the third time in four games this season. After a Beaver miscue some 30 yards from the net, Feather collected the ball and blasted a high shot that hit the crossbar and tickled the back of the net. The goal proved to be Feather's second game-winner of the season and the sixth of his career. He now has 19 goals and 48 points for his career and will become the 22nd member of the half-century club with his next goal.

      After the goal, Graffy made four more stops, including three in the final 10 minutes. In the 82nd, he picked off a Caleb Long (Kingston, Mass.) header and a shot from senior Mike Fisher (Longmeadow, Mass.). Graffy's final save came against sophomore Tyler Carlos (Prospect, Conn.), who tried to surprise the Judges' netminder with a bicycle kick.

      With his seven saves on the night, Graffy set a new career-high and established his first career shutout. Klein had two stops for the visitors, but surrendered just his second goal of the campaign. Babson ended up with a 12-10 edge in shots taken.

      The win was Brandeis's second-straight in the all-time series with Babson, the most-played rivalry in Judges' history. It was the first time in four seasons that the showdown was not decided in double overtime, but the fifth-straight meeting decided by one goal. Babson still leads the series, 28-23-10.

      Brandeis continues its three-match homestand Tuesday at 4 p.m. against WPI. Babson will host Mount Ida Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Note: portions taken from a Brandeis University press release.