PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team continued its homestand on Tuesday night at Rhodes Field, battling Philly Soccer Six foe Drexel to a 3-3 draw.
 
After being down 3-1 at the break, sophomores Marco Bottene and Michael Howard scored their first collegiate goals late in the second to force a 3-3 draw and Penn to a 1-2-2 record.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Midfielder Bottene netted a career-high three points off a goal and an assist. Patrick Cayelli co-led the offense with Bottene off a three-point outing as well.
 
*Senior Cayelli played a career-high 90 minutes against the Dragons. Connor Dawson, David Howard, and Malachi Neal also docked the full time on the pitch.
 
*Joaquin Niehenke made his first start of the season in the matchup.
 
*The Battle of 33rd Street was chippy, as a combined five yellow cards and 20 fouls were handed out in the game.
 
How It Happened
Drexel got on the board early as Victor Moerck slipped one past keeper Howard in the third minute. The Quakers' first shot in the game wasn't registered until the tenth minute when senior Cayelli shot one at Owen Moore that the keeper quickly saved. John Shannon III doubled the lead in the 14th minute to continue the Dragons' dominance.
 
Penn finally got on the board with 17 minutes left of the first half as Bottene drew a penalty and midfielder Cayelli took the kick to cut the deficit to 2-1. During the final five minutes of the quarter, Drexel drew a free kick that allowed Morgan Worsford-Gregg to hit the back of the net to end the scoring chances in the first.
 
The Quakers came out of the break with some fire, as junior Niehenke slammed one at Moore, but the keeper scooped it up before it could do any damage. The Dragons had a strong chance in the Red and Blue's defensive zone as Tiago Lima-Bittencourt went striking down the field with George Herbert trailing him, but senior Howard handled the ball to keep the game at 3-1 with less than 30 minutes left in regulation.
 
Back-to-back yellow cards on both teams in the 71st minute upped the intensity at Rhodes Field as a throw in by Owen Sullivan allowed Howard to dish the ball to Bottene, who netted his first collegiate goal to cut the lead to 3-2. Four minutes later, senior Cayllei booted in a free kick that sophomore Howard snuck in off a pass from Bottene to score the first goal of his career and tie the game at three.
 
The final 15 minutes continued to stay tense as three fouls were given to both teams, while Drexel received another yellow card in the 87th minute.  Ultimately, both defenses were able to hold steady and keep the score at 3-3 to end the battle.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (1-2-2) continue their four-game home stretch on Saturday, Sept. 20, hosting Air Force for a 7 p.m. matchup at Rhodes Field.