PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team dropped its second-straight match to open Ivy League play on Saturday, falling 2-0 to Columbia on Rhodes Field.

PENN NOTES
*The loss is the first at home for the Quakers this year. Penn is now 1-1-1 on Rhodes Field.

*The defensive four of Erumuse Momoh, Alex Touche, RC Williams and Casey Barone played all 90 minutes on the night, continuing their streak of spending every minute on the field this season. They were joined on Saturday by Brandon Bartel.

*Columbia outshot Penn 10-5 on the night and earned nine corner kicks to Penn's six. 

*Columbia now holds the lead in the all-time series between the two teams at 34-33-16. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a methodical start to the match, with both teams not afraid to make attacking moves into the final third. Penn's first chance of the night came from Joey Bhangdia, as the sophomore collected a beautiful ball down the line from Erumuse Momoh, beat his defender, and ripped a confident shot off the glove of the Columbia keeper. Unfortunately for the Quakers, that would prove to be Penn's only shot until the waning moments of the half.

Both teams collected multiple opportunities from corner kicks, as defenders from each squad were content to poke out the ball on either side of the goal when in danger. 

It was corner kicks that would eventually spurn the Quakers, as the Lions sent a ball into the box in the 35th minute, posting a shot on goal blocked by Scott Forbes, eventually finding the body of Dylan Mott who sent the ball to the back of the net in front of an open goal.

It wouldn't take long for Columbia to double its advantage in the 40th minute, as John Denis sent the ball up high on another corner kick, avoiding the scrum inside the box. Nike Azuma streaked up the field to find the slow rolling ball and hammered it home past all Penn defenders and Forbes, finding the top corner of the net. 

The second half began with more threats offensively from Columbia, before settling in to a more methodical pace as time went on. 

While Penn tried to jumpstart its offense, using multiple players up top, the Quakers couldn't get the ball into the right spots past the Columbia defenders as time ran out. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Quakers will remain at home, hosting UMBC for a midweek matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. on Rhodes Field.