PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team capped off a four-game homestand on Friday night, toppling Mount St. Mary's on Rhodes Field, 5-1, behind a career night from senior
Ben Stitz.
A five-point night for the midfielder on a goal and three assists paced an offense that put up four first-half goals and totaled 20 shots for the night.
With the win, the Quakers move to 3-1-1 for the season while the Mountaineers drop to 1-5-0.
Quaker Notemeal
*With his three-assist night, Stitz moves into first in the Ivy League with five for the season. The Quakers own the top three spots in assists, as
Matt Leigh has three and
Charlie Gaffney has two.
*Averaging 1.80 points per game, Stitz and Leigh sit second in the league with nine points.
*
Stas Korzeniowski and
Mateo Zazueta earned their first collegiate points today, connecting on the final goal.
*Leigh has registered points in four out of the five games this season, totaling three goals and three assists.
*
Michael Hewes earned his first collegiate goal and extends his match streak of points to two.
*Defender
Kai Lammers, who was named Philadelphia Soccer Six Freshman of the Year back in 2019, registered his first goal of the season and second of his career.
*The 20 shots for the game are a season high for the Quakers, including 11 on target.
*
Dane Jacomen earned the victory between the pipes, making two saves through 90 minutes of play.
How It Happened
The first half played quickly into the Quakers' favor, scoring the first of four first-half goals in just the 14th minute. Stitz dished out his first helper of the night on a perfect cross from the right side of the 18-yard box, dropping in a ball to the back post to meet the head of Leigh for the redirect into the net.
With early momentum, Penn would be silenced less than three minutes later when the Mountaineers put in the equalizer on a cross of their own into an open Mount in the middle of the box.
Later in the half, the spark was lit for the Quakers with three goals over a stretch of five minutes to take a commanding three-goal lead into the break that held the rest of the way. Stitz connected with Lammers for his first goal of the season to start the run. Four minutes later, Stitz capped off his hat trick of assists with a difficult pass to Hewes for a lefty finish to the right side of the net. By the 37th minute, Stitz final got his own goal, receiving a beautiful pass from the right side by Gaffney, collecting and turning for a finish in the bottom left side of the net.
As the Quakers saw a lot of minutes to new faces in the second half, a freshmen pair connected for the fifth and final goal of the game in the 89th minute. With room in the middle of the field, Zazueta sent a through ball to Korzeniowski who only needed three touches into the 18 for the rip into the net for his first collegiate goal.
Up Next
Penn hits the road for the first time since the season opener, traveling to Rutgers on Monday, September 20 for another non-conference matchup. Start time is slated for 7 p.m.
#FightOnPenn
