It certainly wasn't clean or pretty, but as far as the men's soccer team was concerned, it worked.
The Quakers blew out Saint Joeseph's 4-0 before holding off Duquense 1-0 to win the Penn Soccer Classic last weekend.
Penn (4-1) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. In the fifth minute against the Hawks (2-5-1), sophomore forward Omid Shokoufandeh slipped a ball across the box through a slew of oncoming defenders, finding the right foot of fellow sophomore forward Mike Klein. Unmarked, Klein slammed the ball into the back of the net, exposing St. Joe's weak backline and swinging the momentum in Penn's direction.
Thirty minutes later, the Red and Blue scored an almost identical goal. A pass from Shokoufandeh to the right side of the box skipped past three defenders yet again, and Klein beat goalie Joe Bodnar with a strong strike inside the right post for his second goal of the game.
"We just wanted to get at them real quickly, put them under pressure and score a couple of goals early," Klein said.
Just before the end of the half, Klein served a free kick into the box to senior Andy Howard, who headed the ball high over Bodnar to give the Quakers a 3-0 lead in the 45th minute.
Shokoufandeh also scored in the 86th minute, but by then the Hawks' fate had already been sealed.
The Duquesne game, though, was a tougher test.
Penn took the lead with a surprising early goal. Klein was taken down right at the edge of the penalty area, and Alex Grendi slotted the free kick into the net.
"I just tried to curl it in around the wall, so the goalie couldn't see it," Grendi said.
But Duquesne (3-3-1) wasn't fazed by the early goal. The Dukes brought a tough, frantic game to Penn.
They didn't create many chances, but they challenged the Quakers' fitness and showed them a physical challenge.
Even Penn coach Rudy Fuller admitted that his team may have been a little fortunate to come away with a win.
"I credit Duquesne," Fuller said. "They came and did a very good job, and I'm not sure they deserved to go away a loser.
"From the beginning, I've said this team has a good spirit to it and a good chemistry to it. That kind of allowed us to get the result today."
The shutout was the third straight game in which Penn blanked an opponent, to the satisfaction of goalkeeper Dan Cepero.
"I'm real proud of the guys in front of me. It's not just the four in the back, it's all 10 guys in front of me," Cepero said. "I'm just proud of the guys for putting the work in and applying it to the game."
As time ran out, Duquense became even more physical. The Dukes accrued three yellow cards in 32 minutes, and could easily have been given a couple more.
That style took its toll on the Quakers, too. With less than 30 minutes left in the game, Grendi hobbled off with an aggravated ankle injury.
The matchwinner will be evaluated today and tomorrow to see if he will play Wednesday at LaSalle.
