NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team opened Ivy League action Saturday night on the road at Yale, rallying from an early 1-0 deficit for a 2-1 victory in the conference opener for both teams.
Quaker Notemeal
* The victory was the fifth straight for the Quakers, the first such occurrence for the program since the 2010 season.
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Leo Burney, the defender by trade, scored the winner late in the second half, his third goal of the season.
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Ben Stitz, who entered the season with three goals in 48 career matches, scored for the fifth straight match, giving him a team-leading six for the year.
* Penn improved to 5-0-4 in its last nine matches against the Bulldogs. Yale's last win in the series came back in 2012.
* The Red and Blue conceded fewer than five shots on goal for the eighth consecutive match.
* For the first time this season, the Quakers failed to earn more corner kicks than their opponent (5-3).
How It Happened
Two teams that came in allowing a combined 14 goals in 14 matches flexed their collective defensive muscle early on, as neither offense mustered as much as a shot attempt until the 19th minute. Yale finally broke through in the 22nd minute, but Stitz responded less than two minutes later to knot things at one.
That score held up for nearly an hour. On a night when both teams had to scratch and claw for opportunities, Burney finally broke the tie in the 75th minute, finding himself in the right place at the right time, cleaning up a loose ball off a blocked shot from
Isaac McGinnis.
Yale had one final good look in the 85th minute, but
Nick Christoffersen made his 17th save of the year, a new single-season best for the senior.
Up Next
Penn returns to University City for an October 8 Ivy League affair against Dartmouth scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at Penn Park.
#FightOnPenn
