Men’s Soccer Blanks Cornell at Home, 1-0

Box Score PHILADELPHIA – The streak at home continues. The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team blanked Cornell at Penn Park on Saturday night, 1-0.

Stas Korzeniowski nailed a goal off a penalty in the 59th minute of the game to push Penn to its first Ivy League win of the season. Penn moves to 3-3-3 (1-1-1 Ivy League) on the season, while Cornell falls to 4-3-2 (0-1-2 Ivy League).

Quaker Notemeal
*The Quakers are still undefeated at home this season, grabbing two wins and a draw at Penn Park.

*For the second match in a row, Penn's defense in front of goalkeeper Nick Christoffersen kept the opposing team from attempting a shot in the first half.

*Tonight's shutout win marks the second on the season for the senior goalkeeper, the other coming in a 3-0 victory at then-No. 13 Penn State back on September 8. It was his fourth clean sheet this season, the Quakers tying 0-0 twice during the campaign.

*Penn had two shots on the Big Red's goal, with Michael Hewes recording the other attempt. Christoffersen saved three at the other end of the field.

*Christoffersen, Leo Burney, Ben Do, Mattias Hanchard, Jacob Muchnick, and Oliver Pratt played the full 90 minutes.

How It Happened
The first 45 minutes of play Saturday night were pretty quiet for both teams, as neither squad recorded a shot on goal. Only two shots of any sort were attempted in the first half, with the Big Red missing the net in the fourth minute of the game and junior Brandon Curran going above the crossbar in the 41st minute.

The action picked up quickly in the second half, both teams getting their first shots on net during the 47th minute. Senior Hewes and Cornell's Connor Miller recorded back-to-back attempts at the goal, but both goalkeepers held strong to keep the score at 0-0.

The Big Red's second shot on Christoffersen happened during the 53rd minute, but the senior snatched the ball up to prevent any second attempts.

Shortly after Cornell's shot, the Quaker offense came rushing down the field with a fury. Junior Korzeniowski was making strides towards Isaac Delgado's net but was taken to the ground by a Cornell defender. Awarded a penalty kick, the junior slammed the ball into the lower right corner of the net to score his fourth goal of the season and push Penn ahead 1-0.

59' | Penn 1, Cornell 0

2?2? strikes first to get us on the board! #FightOnPenn?????? pic.twitter.com/88A0lPQbrC
— Penn Men's Soccer (@PennMSoccer) October 7, 2023

Cornell tried to put some shots on net after the goal, attempting four more shots between the 61st and 74th minutes that all went off target. The Big Red's final offensive attempt came in the 81st minute when Connor Drought re-directed a ball toward the bottom left of the net. Luckily for the Quakers, Christoffersen made the save in time to hold the score at its final tally of 1-0.

Up Next
Penn returns home for a non-conference midweek match on Tuesday, Oct. 10, for a battle with Monmouth at 7 p.m. at Penn Park.

#FightOnPenn

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Players Mentioned

#2 Leo Burney: D; 6' 3"; Junior

#0 Nick Christoffersen: GK; 6' 2"; Senior

#26 Brandon Curran: M; 6' 1"; Junior

#10 Ben Do: D; 5' 8"; Junior

#23 Mattias Hanchard: D; 6' 0"; Senior

#15 Michael Hewes: M; 5' 11"; Senior

#22 Stas Korzeniowski: F; 6' 4"; Junior

#32 Jacob Muchnick: M; 5' 8"; Senior

#16 Oliver Pratt: D; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#2 Leo Burney
: 6' 3"; Junior
: D

#0 Nick Christoffersen
: 6' 2"; Senior
: GK

#26 Brandon Curran
: 6' 1"; Junior
: M

#10 Ben Do
: 5' 8"; Junior
: D

#23 Mattias Hanchard
: 6' 0"; Senior
: D

#15 Michael Hewes
: 5' 11"; Senior
: M

#22 Stas Korzeniowski
: 6' 4"; Junior
: F

#32 Jacob Muchnick
: 5' 8"; Senior
: M

#16 Oliver Pratt
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: D