CHICAGO – The University of Pennsylvania put together another strong performance on both ends of the pitch Sunday afternoon, blanking DePaul University 3-0 for its fourth straight win.
Quaker Notemeal
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Michael Hewes, the reigning Ivy League and Soccer Six Player of the Week, scored his fifth goal in his last three matches.
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Ben Stitz, who entered the year with three career goals in 48 matches, scored for the fourth straight match, earning his first career brace in the process.
* Penn has won four straight matches for the first time since the 2010 season.
* The Quakers scored at least three goals for the fourth straight match. It marks the first such occurrence for the program since the end of the 1982 and beginning of the 1983 season, and first time in the same season since 1973.
* Penn has out shot and earned more corners than its opponent in all seven matches this season. The Quakers have also held all seven opponents this season to five shots on goal or fewer.
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Nick Christoffersen, who played 86 minutes in Penn's 5-0 win over Mount St. Mary's nine days ago, earned his first official shutout of 2022.
How It Happened
Penn spent the first half-hour doing what they've done all season: pressuring their opponent's back line. The Quakers took six shots and earned a pair of corner kicks, before finally breaking through in the 31st minute.
Precise passing stretching from the Quaker defensive zone into the DePaul 18-yard box created an opportunity for Hewes, who chipped one with the left foot into the top right corner of the net. Penn carried the lead into the halftime break
Just shy of the one-hour mark, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it series of moves from
Ben Do created enough space on the left sideof the box for a cross to Stitz, who doubled the lead with a deflection inside the six-yard box
Less than five minutes later, the Quakers took advantage of DePaul's unsuccessful clear attempt, as Stitz put one in the lower left corner of the net with his momentum carrying him toward the opposite post.
The Blue Demons had one serious scoring threat on a free kick in the 67th minute, but Christoffersen snagged the ball near the right post.
Up Next
Penn will open Ivy League play Saturday night on the road against Yale, against whom the Quakers have drawn twice in their last three matches.
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