Penn men’s soccer earns hard-fought 1-0 win over Manhattan

Liverpool FC’s stadium, Anfield, became a fortress for the Premier League Club. The Reds went 68 home matches unbeaten over the course of four seasons. After four straight wins at Rhodes Field, No. 11 Penn men’s soccer could be enjoying the beginning of a similar run of form in its newly renovated home. 

The Quakers (5-1) defeated Manhattan (2-3-1) 1-0, capping off yet another home win with a clean sheet. Penn entered the match following a surprising away loss to VCU. 

“I don't think walking away from that game, anybody’s hanging their head too low,” coach Brian Gill said.“We knew we wanted to respond in this match.” 

After the opening whistle, the recipe for success for the Quakers was clear: keep the pressure on and wait for Manhattan to make a mistake. 

Senior forward Stas Korzeniowski registered the game’s first shot on goal in the opening five minutes after a quick change of possession. Unfortunately for him, the angle simply wasn’t there, making it easier for Manhattan goalkeeper Ludvig Målberg to collect the ball. The Jaspers responded with a break into the Penn goal box to create a dangerous goal-scoring opportunity that was only thwarted by a sliding block from senior midfielder Aaron Messer. 

In the 21st minute, sophomore right back Owen Sullivan whipped in a dangerous cross to junior midfielder Patrick Cayelli, who was unable to get a shot on goal off,  but was able to flick the ball right into the path of sophomore midfielder Jack-Ryan Jeremiah. With acres of room, Jeremiah rifled the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. 

“It was a little bit of a difficult one,” Jeremiah said. “I think it took two deflections on the way out, so once I saw it line up perfectly I wanted to keep the composure, take a big, deep breath, remember the technique, and just swing through”. 

With 15 minutes to go in the half, while chasing down a long ball into space, senior midfielder Charlie Gaffney pulled up with what seemed to be a muscle injury. In entered junior midfielder Erickson Sakalosky, who found himself smashing the ball past the Målberg moments later after a flick-on from Korzeniowski. The celebrations were put to an end quickly, however, with the sideline referee raising the offside flag. 

The Quakers would get the first massive chance of the second half after Sakalosky found himself through on goal from an over-the-top long ball. The midfielder managed to dink the ball past the Manhattan keeper but his effort rattled off the post. By the time the ball bounced back into his path, a defender had made it back to block the junior midfielder’s second shot attempt. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Phillip Falcon III wasn’t tested until nearly 25 minutes into the second half. A long-range attempt from a Manhattan forward curled directly into the shot-stopper’s arms for a routine save. Penn’s backline continued to hold off any major threats, limiting the opposition’s attack from time on the ball in dangerous areas. 

“It [the defense] has been a staple for the group over the years,” said Gill. “It’s not an area where you want to spend most of the game, but it's an area of the field that we know how to deal with”. 

As the end of the match drew nearer, Manhattan tried to press higher up the field and gave the Quakers a harder time dictating play. The Red and Blue were able to protect the favorable scoreline. Upon entering the game following a brief period on the bench, Korzeniowski immediately upped the intensity and physicality of the contest. 

Falcon would continue to be tested from long-range, making two back-to-back saves in the span of seconds. The nerviest moment for Penn came in the final 15 minutes of the contest, with the Jaspers creating major goal-scoring chances on set-pieces. It would take a few big gathers from Falcon and some last-ditch defensive blocks for the Quakers to see out the remainder of the match on top. 

As the Jaspers pushed more and more up the field, the Red and Blue found themselves with more opportunities to counter-attack. After parrying a powerful shot from Korzeniowski, Målberg made another impressive save to keep Cayelli off of the scoresheet. Minutes later, Korzeniowski rattled the goalpost with a left-footed strike from outside the box. Penn did not take its foot off the gas pedal in the game’s final stretch. 

“The attackers, midfielders, and wingers that we have in this team right now are some of the best that have come through this program,” Jeremiah said. “I think it’s just a testament to the work we’ve put in, and it’s all coming together right now”. 

The Quakers will look to improve their results on the road as they take on Villanova this Tuesday at Campolo Field.