Penn men's soccer turns tables, shuts out Stony Brook

After not recording a shutout in any of its 16 games last season, the Penn defense sent a clear message Friday night: lesson learned.

The Quakers neutralized the Stony Brook attack to record a 2-0 win to open the season at Penn Park, the Red and Blue’s first shutout since 2011, which also came against the Seawolves.

“I said to the guys, the most important thing was the shutout,” coach Rudy Fuller said. “Last year we were uncharacteristically poor defensively, and so it was good to lay down a marker and get that first shutout.”

Nearing the end of a fairly even first half, it looked like the teams would go into halftime with the score at 0-0. But an impressive piece of play from junior Louis Schott changed that.

Senior Alex Reddy whipped in a corner kick with just over a minute left in the half. After a half-clearance from the Stony Brook defense, the ball found its way to Schott’s feet at the edge of the box. Schott created some space and unleashed a shot which found the back of the net to give Penn the lead.

Following the halftime break, the Red and Blue continued on the front foot and were rewarded with a header goal from junior Jason DeFaria in the 52nd minute off a free kick from senior Austin Kinn.

Just two minutes later, the Seawolves were reduced to 10 men as freshman Rodrigo Uriarte was sent off for a reckless sliding tackle which earned him his second yellow.

With the man advantage and two goals up, the Quakers controlled the rest of the game to seal the comfortable victory.

Up next, Penn will host Sacred Heart at Penn Park on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., to finish off the home weekend.

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