PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team continued its home swing on Saturday night, blanking Air Force 2-0 at Rhodes Field.
 
First-half goals from seniors Oliver Pratt and Erickson Sakalosky lifted Penn to its second win and third shutout of the season. The Quakers shifted to 2-2-2 on the year while Air Force fell to 1-5-2.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Phillip Falcon III made his first start of the year in the box against the Falcons. The junior made four stops in his season debut to post the tenth clean sheet of his career.
 
*Midfielder Sakalosky's tally accounted for the first of his collegiate career while Pratt netted his first of the season.
 
*Patrick Cayelli and Gavin Seele dished out the pair of goals in the victory.
 
*Tonight's meeting marked the second all-time meeting in series history and the first win for the Red and Blue against the Falcons.
 
*Penn's offense was all over the field in the non-conference battle, outshooting Air Force 19-7 with ten shots registering on goal.
 
How It Happened
Both teams started the game pretty quiet, with Air Force's Attila Toth attempting the first shot on goal in the 12th minute, which goalie Falcon easily saved. Five minutes later, the Quakers were awarded a free kick off a yellow card that set defender Pratt up to score his first goal of the year off a pass from senior Cayelli.
 
Joaquin Niehenke tried to keep the offense going in the 19th minute, but the Falcons' defenders disrupted the pass before it could reach Brody Smith. Junior Falcon's last save of the first came from a shot by Sean Odle in the 26th minute that the keeper easily scooped up.
 
The Red and Blue upped the energy in the final ten minutes of the first, as Seele slammed one towards Brody that the goalie had to move to save. With exactly two minutes left of the quarter, senior Seele passed the ball up to Sakalosky, who slammed it in to score his first collegiate goal and put the lead at 2-0 to end the first.
 
Penn came out of the halftime picking up where they left off in the first, as Pratt, Michael Howard, and Malachi Neal all recorded shots in the 56th minute to make keeper Brody and his defense work hard to keep the deficit at two. Air Force tried to respond to the Quakers' trio of attempts as Maximilian Perez slammed the ball at Falcon that looked like it was going to go in, but the junior prevailed with a save.
 
The remainder of regulation stayed in the Red and Blue's favor as Pratt, Romeo Dahlen, and Cayelli all posted shots at Brody between the 61st and 73rd minutes to run the clock down. The Falcons' final shot of the game came in the 77th minute, but the Quakers' defense held strong, blocking the shot and holding Air Force off the board to end the game at 2-0.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (2-2-2) close out their four-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting Philly Soccer Six opponent, Villanova, for a 7 p.m. contest at Rhodes Field.