PHILADELPHIA – The men's soccer team opened its homestand on Saturday night, silencing Yale 3-0 at Rhodes Field.
 
Stellar offensive performances from Patrick Cayelli and Jack Wagoner helped Penn secure its second straight win and a spot in the 2025 Ivy League tournament.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior Wagoner netted a pair of goals to score the first brace of his collegiate career.
 
*Senior Cayelli led the offense with four points off a goal and two assists.
 
*Phillip Falcon III was a force in the box, stopping all three shots faced to record the seventh shutout of the season and the 16th of his career.
 
*Penn outshot Yale 23-7 with nine shots reaching the goal.
 
How It Happened
Both teams were pretty quiet to begin the game as the first shot didn't come from sophomore Dahlen until the 11th minute, which keeper Conrad Lee tackled to save. The shot amped up the energy for Penn, as Romeo Dahlen attempted another shot two minutes later that was blocked, allowing senior Cayelli to clean up and sneak in to put the Red and Blue ahead 1-0 in the 13th minute.
 
Cayelli's goal woke the Bulldogs up, as their offense went directly towards Falcon off the kickoff, but Sebi Roy's shot was misdirected before it could reach the keeper. The Quakers continued to stay in Yale's defensive zone after the shot, as Oliver Pratt, Jack-Ryan Jeremiah, and Cayelli all tallied shots between the 15th and 16th minutes to keep throwing chances at the goal. Junior Falcon made his first save of the afternoon a few minutes later off a boot from Simon Adjakple.
 
Yale's final shot in the first came from Roy in the 30th minute, which Falcon easily saved. The final 15 minutes were all Penn as senior Wagoner netted a pair of passes from Cayelli in the 37th and 39th minutes to take a 3-0 lead heading into the break.
 
The second half continued to be all Penn, as the Quakers recorded seven shots in the first 17 minutes of the half, with all being blocked and misdirected before they could reach the goal. Yale's first shot of the half wasn't registered until the 66th minute, as Angelo Zhu slammed one towards Falcon, but the Quaker defense blocked it before it could do any damage. Two minutes later, Billy Altirs tried again for the Bulldogs, but Falcon easily caught it with time dwindling.
 
Midfielder Cayelli nearly netted another goal off a rocket in the 75th, but his shot went to the right before it could hit the back of the net. The final shot of the conference battle came from Erickson Sakalosky in the 83rd minute before Penn cleared its bench of starters and the 3-0 win.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (8-3-4, 3-1-2) close out the regular season next weekend, hosting Princeton on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. for a Senior Day showdown at Rhodes Field.