Debrief on the fall sports season

Now that fall sports have come to a close, here's a look at how seven Quaker teams did this year. 

Football

Penn football (3-7, 1-6 Ivy) posted a disappointing season, only managing to win one conference game. The team placed at the bottom of the Ivy League, with its worst conference record since 1981. The Red and Blue made a quarterback switch in the middle of season as freshman Aidan Sayin replaced senior John Quinnelly in the starting lineup in the Oct. 23 matchup against Yale. 

Graduate student running back Isaiah Malcome finished his Quaker career with an all-time team record of 6.0 yards per carry. The Quakers had seven players named All-Ivy teams: Graduate student defensive lineman Prince Emili and graduate student linebacker Brian O'Neill were named first team All-Ivy. 

Malcome, senior offensive lineman Trevor Radosevich, and senior defensive back Jason McCleod, Jr. were named second team All-Ivy. Senior offensive lineman Jake Heimlicher and junior defensive lineman Micah Morris both earned All-Ivy honorable mentions.

Sprint Football

The sprint football team (5-2) finished its season with mixed results. The Red and Blue dominated in all their victories, taking down the opponents with double-digit wins. When it came to the losses, however, the Quakers fell to Army and Navy by huge margins, scoring 27 points in total while giving 90 points. 

Senior running back Laquan McKever ends his final season with the Quakers with 783 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Andrew Paolini appeared in all seven games, and capped off the season with 19 touchdown passes. 

Five players were named CSFL’s players of the week during the season, including senior Ben Klaus, Paolini, freshman Jake Inserra, junior Lewis Evans, and McKever.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team (7-6-3, 1-4-2) finishes its season ranked sixth in the Ivy League. The Quakers struggled on the offensive side as the season progressed, and only managed to score one goal in their last four games. 

Senior forward Matt Leigh and graduate student midfielder Joey Bhangdia tied for most goals on the team with five each. Senior midfielder Ben Stitz had a team-high eight assists, as well as 33 shots. 

Junior Nick Christoffersen and senior Dane Jacomen rotated in the position of goalkeeper and totaled a combination of 63 saves throughout the season. Christoffersen also made a career-high 11 saves in the game against Drexel on Oct. 12. 

Freshman defender Leo Burney was named first team All-Ivy. Stitz and his partner in the midfield, senior Isaac McGinnis, both earned second team All-Ivy honors. Freshman midfielder Stas Korzeniowski earned honorable mention status. 

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team (9-5-2, 3-4-0) had some sharp distinctions between its home and away records. When playing on their home turf, the Quakers won all but one game; yet they weren’t able to secure a single victory on road trips. The Red and Blue finished the season ranked fifth in the Ivy League.

Senior forward Mia Shenk led the team with six goals. Junior forward Sizzy Lawton and sophomore midfielder Lauren Teuschl tied for a team-high seven assists. Lawton, Teuschl, and junior defender Emily Pringle were named second team All-Ivy; sophomore goalkeeper Laurence Gladu earned honorable mention status. 

Volleyball

The volleyball team (8-15, 5-9) concluded its season ranked sixth in the Ivy League, marking its best result in four years. The Red and Blue took down Columbia both at home and away; other victories included Harvard, Dartmouth and Cornell. 

Junior outside hitter Autumn Leak was the leader of this team with a team-high 314 kills throughout the season. Leak also earned second team All-Ivy honors. Senior captain Margaret Planek finished second on the team with 213 kills and 179 digs. Planek was named Academic All-Ivy.

Field Hockey

The field hockey team (9-7, 5-2) placed third in the Ivy League, only behind nationally-ranked Harvard and Princeton. Although the Red and Blue lost to all its ranked opponents, the team had a fairly successful season that matched its result from 2018. 

Senior captain Gracyn Banks was named first team All-Ivy, junior Sydney Huang earned second team All-Ivy, and juniors Meghan Ward and Elita Van Staden were named honorable mention All-Ivy. Ward led the team with six goals and three assists. Banks was second in total points, notching four goals and two assists. 

Cross Country

The Quakers competed in seven invitationals throughout the season. In the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, the men’s team placed sixth out of 26 teams while the women’s team finished 10th out of 27 teams. 

Additionally, senior captain Noah Carey of the men’s team raced in the NCAA National Championship and finished 119th out of 253 competitors with a 30:20.7 10k time, only three seconds behind his personal record.