PHILADELPHIA – It's go time! The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team opens the 2025 season on Friday night, hosting Loyola Maryland for a 7 p.m. battle at Rhodes Field.
 
Penn (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. Loyola Maryland (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League)
Friday, Aug. 29 | 7 p.m.
Philadelphia, Pa. | Rhodes Field
Watch on ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats | Program 
 
The Penn vs. Loyola Maryland Series
*Friday's matchup will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs.
 
*The Quakers hold the sole win in the series, with the other four games ending in a draw.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*The Red and Blue earned the top spot in the Ivy League men's soccer preseason poll for the third straight year, grabbing 120 points and ten first place votes.
 
*The top four spots of the preseason poll and projected to make the 2025 Ivy League tournament, along with the Red and Blue, are rounded out by the reigning tournament champion Princeton Tigers in tied second with 107 points and five first-place votes, Cornell in tied second with 107 and one first-place vote points, and Brown in fourth with 66 points.
 
*Penn returns a stacked lineup to the pitch including, 2024 All-Ivy honorees Patrick Cayelli, Connor Dawson, Phillip Falcon III, and Jack-Ryan Jeremiah, along with two other starters in Oliver Pratt and Erickson Sakalosky.
 
*Midfielder Jeremiah is turning heads entering his junior year, earning spots on the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Midfielder to Watch and the Hermann Trophy Watch List. Jeremiah recorded 12 points in 2024, including four goals against William and Mary, Manhattan, nationally ranked Hofstra, and in the Ivy League semifinals against Brown. 
 
*Keeper Falcon looks to build off his stellar sophomore season, being named a USC Goalkeeper to Watch. Falcon led the Ivy League in goals-against-average (.840) and shutouts (9) while posting a .795 save percentage. The goalkeeper won four consecutive Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors, the most in conference history.
 
*Ten new Quakers will hit the field this season made up of eight freshmen and two transfers. First-years Adam Ambrus-Aikelin, Dylan Auffret, Max Bohemier, Becket Empson-Speiden, Kalani Kunimura, Lincoln Matuskiewicz, Theo Ottosson, and Phil Pak, and transfers George Herbert (Saint Mary's) and David Howard (UVA) will all wear the Red and Blue this year.
 
*Four program alumni started their professional careers in the offseason, with Leo Burney inking a homegrown contract with the Seattle Sounders FC, Nick Christoffersen with Akademisk Boldklub, Charlie Gaffney with Tacoma Defiance, and Stas Korzeniowski with the Philadelphia Union II.
 
Scouting the Greyhounds
*Loyola carries a 1-1 record into Friday's game, opening the season with a 2-0 shutout over NJIT before falling 1-0 against Syracuse this past Sunday.
 
*Jack Endacott and Nicholas Turturro lead the team's offense with a goal each, while Tyler Flynn, Chris Ogor, and David Williams have each dished out an assist.
 
*In the Patriot League preseason poll, the Greyhounds were picked to finish fourth, while Jordy Luches earned Preseason All-Patriot.
 
*Penn will likely face Connor O'Keefe in goal in University City. The keeper has six saves and one goal against on the season.