PHILADELPHIA – The new season begins this weekend. After claiming the #6 seed in the NCAA 2024 Men's Soccer Championship earlier this week, the nationally ranked University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team gears up to host Massachusetts in the second round at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Rhodes Field.
 
NCAA DI MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP | ROUND 2
#6 PENN (14-3-1, 7-0 Ivy League) vs. UMASS (11-3-5, 5-2-1 A10)
Sunday, Nov. 24 | 5 p.m.
Philadelphia, Pa. | Rhodes Field 
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The Penn vs. UMass Series 
*This will be the first time these teams meet in program history.
 
Quaker Notemeal 
*Penn is coming off a skid against Princeton last Sunday, falling 3-1 in the 2024 Ivy League Men's Soccer Final. Leo Burney scored the Quakers' goal in the matchup off a dish from Brandon Curran.
 
*The Red and Blue secured home-field advantage in the Ivy League Tournament after topping Princeton 1-0 to close out the regular season. Stas Korzeniowski scored the sole goal in the 85th minute to help push the Quakers to their third-straight outright Ivy League regular season title.
 
*Penn's perfect 7-0-0 Ivy League season is the 14th in Ivy history, the fifth this century, the first since 2021, and the first for the Quakers since 1971.
 
*The Quakers cleaned up in the 2024 Ivy League postseason awards, claiming nine spots on the All-Ivy teams and three major awards.
 
*Senior Burney, Jack-Ryan Jeremiah, and senior Korzeniowski grabbed spots on First Team All-Ivy and are joined by Connor Dawson, Phillip Falcon III, and Aaron Messer on Second Team All-Ivy. Patrick Cayelli, senior Curran, and Ben Do round out Penn's All-Ivy honors with Honorable Mention.
 
*As for major awards, defender Burney landed Defensive Player of the Year, Korzeniowski garnered co-Offensive Player of the Year, and the coaching staff led by James C. Gentle Head Coach Brian Gill won Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
*Goalkeeper Falcon tops the conference in goals-against average (.831) and shutouts (9).
 
*Forward Korzeniowski places second in the conference in shots on goal (32) and goals (12) while holding first in game-winning goals (5). 
 
*Junior Cayelli sits tied for first in the Ivy League in assists (9). 
 
*Defender Burney and sophomore Falcon clocked 90 minutes on the pitch for every game this season, totaling 1,624 minutes played. Sophomore Dawson follows with1,617 minutes on the season. 
 
*The reigning Ivy League Coach of the Year, Gill, led the Red and Blue to their sixth straight season at .500 or better after Penn tallied a 13-2-1 overall record and perfect Ivy record during the regular season.
 
Scouting the Minutemen 
*UMass finished the regular season 10-3-4 and 5-2-1 in Atlantic 10 play. The Minutemen fell in penalty kicks to Saint Louis in the A10 quarterfinal round.
 
*The Minutemen earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship, taking down Evansville 2-1 in the first round on Thursday to move on to Sunday's match in University City.
 
*Alec Hughes claimed A10 Offensive Player of the Year for the third-straight season for the first time in conference history earlier this month. Aidan Kelly (All-A10 First Team) and Mike Willis (All-A10 Academic) also claimed postseason honors for UMass.
 
*Forward Hughes leads the offense in goals (15) and points (31), while Matt Cence dished out a team-high eight assists.
 
*The Quakers will likely face Alex Geczy in the box on Sunday. The goalkeeper holds a .730 save percentage and a 1.05 goals-against-average.