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The Quakers took on Villanova's soccer team on Friday, resulting in a 0-1 loss despite a good effort by Penn. Credit: Pete Lodato

Capitalizing on scoring chances has been the key to success for Penn men’s soccer, which is undefeated in games in which the Quakers have put points on the board.

The weekend’s Princeton Tournament, held in Princeton, N.J., proved no different.

The Red and Blue, who were ranked No. 25 going into the weekend, lost 1-0 to Adelphi on Friday before rebounding with a 2-1 victory over Richmond on Sunday.

Friday’s loss to Adelphi (5-3-0) was particularly heartbreaking for Penn (6-2-0) because the game-winning goal came with only 39 seconds remaining.

Still, Penn coach Rudy Fuller claims that the goal was not a fluke. “A lot of credit goes to Adelphi,” Fuller told Penn Athletics. “They played very well, and they deserved that goal in the end.”

The game reflected what has been the biggest issue for the Quakers going into the Ivy League season: an inability to finish on good opportunities.

“Like on a few other occasions this season, we don’t feel like we did enough with our attacking chances in front of the goal,” Fuller said in a postgame interview following the loss to Adelphi.

Freshman forward Stephen Baker reiterated this point and took it to heart in the next game.

In the 74th minute of Sunday’s victory over Richmond, Baker scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway after receiving an entry pass from junior midfielder Christian Barreiro.

This goal was a great example of what Baker called “improved team chemistry” in comparison to the earlier loss at Adelphi.

The freshman gave credit to Barreiro, saying that he believes that the two ave developed strong chemistry for the great pass.

“He can make passes that a lot of other guys can’t,” Baker said.

Goalkeeper Ben Berg continued with the reliable play that is now expected of him. He still has yet to give up more than one goal in any game this season.

This weekend marked the last tune up before the Ivy League season, which begins this Saturday against Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.

The conference schedule also means the end of doubleheader weekends for the Quakers.

“I am pretty banged up, so I can definitely use the rest,” Baker said.

The rest is well-deserved for the Quakers, whose six September wins give the program its highest number of victories in the opening month since 2006.

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