Junior defender Alex Touche was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year after his success on the field for Penn men's soccer.
Credit: Son NguyenAfter placing second in the Ivy League, Penn men’s soccer has picked up five All-Ivy mentions. The Quakers finished their season with a record of 7-5-4, going 3-1-3 in the Ivy League.
Junior defender Alex Touche was honored as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. Touche is only the third player in program history to be honored as Player of the Year, and he also earned first team All-Ivy recognition.
This season, Touche helped the Quakers achieve seven shutouts overall, three against Ancient Eight opponents. He allowed only five goals in the Quakers’ seven Ivy games. In addition, Touche scored two goals this season: one against Brown and the other against Rutgers.
Touche has received All-Ivy honors at the end of all three of his seasons with the Quakers. This is the second year in a row he’s made the first team, having made the second team his freshman year.
Junior midfielder Joey Bhangdia
Junior Joey Bhangdia, who led the team with six goals this season, was also named to the first team. Bhangdia finished the season with 30 shots overall, 13 of them on goal. This is his first year receiving an All-Ivy honor.
New to the Quakers, freshman defender Kai Lammers was rewarded for his work with a spot on the second team. Like Touche, Lammers was part of the Quaker defense that allowed only 13 goals in 16 matches. He also scored twice this season.
Senior midfielder Brandon Bartel and junior forward Jake Kohlbrenner both earned All-Ivy honorable mentions. Bartel received this honor for the second year in a row, with two goals and three assists this season, and Kohlbrenner added three assists of his own on the year.
The last time two Penn players made first team All-Ivy and the team had this many overall All-Ivy mentions was in 2016.
The League honored Yale’s head coach Kylie Stannard as Coach of the Year and the Bulldogs’ midfielder Mark Winhoffer as Offensive Player of the Year. Penn beat Yale in double overtime this season, handing the Bulldogs their only Ivy loss of the season.
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