M. Soccer | It's four and no score

PRINCETON, N.J. - It had been 36 seasons since Penn posted four consecutive shutouts.

But at the Princeton Soccer Tournament this weekend, Drew Healy tied the program mark, blanking American and the previously unbeaten Seton Hall.

He has now played all 380 minutes this season, recording 16 saves without a ball crossing his line.

Five minutes into yesterday's match, the Quakers had the American players yelling at each other in frustration. Things didn't get much better for the Eagles; the Red and Blue victimized their opponent all afternoon in a grind-it-out 1-0 victory.

The Quakers' only score came in the 24th minute by way of a penalty kick, after Eagles junior Cooper Bryant couldn't keep his casted right hand off the ball while taking down the Quakers' Christian Barreiro in the box. Omid Shokoufandeh nailed the shot low and right.

"Before the PK, me and Alex Grendi were kind of fighting about who was going to take it," Shokoufandeh said, laughing. "I was confident I was going to make it; the goalie looked a little nervous."

For the next 56 minutes, Penn kept its cool in the 90-degree heat and fended off a second-half surge by the Eagles, which included a glancing shot off the crossbar in the final minute.

"We really felt like at some point American was going to die off a bit in the heat," Fuller said.

"The reality is, American deserves all the credit because they were really active all the way through the second half and we really died off."

Even with renewed vigor, the Eagles couldn't break through Penn's back four or the untouchable Healy.

With a new 4-4-2 scheme, the Quakers seemed to have the entire squad behind the ball before they're on defense

"It's not just me communicating, it's everybody," Healy said. "You can hear it; it's contagious."

The senior keeper did take some contact on a couple plays that appeared to warrant a card but didn't in the officials' eyes.

"It's the risk you run," Healy said. "Fair or not, you're going to get knocked around if you're aggressive. I'll take it with a win."

Healy shared the spotlight on Friday, too, against high-powered Seton Hall.

Entering their match against the Quakers, the Pirates were averaging over three goals a game, and their star transfer from Clemson, Samuel Petrone, had scored eight times in his first four contests.

The Quakers had a little inside information on the sophomore from New Jersey: He's left-footed and a bit tempermental.

"A few [of our guys] have played with him before," Healy said. "He ended up taking himself out of the game a little bit."

In addition, reigning Big East Rookie of the Year Brayan Martinez did not play, after starting all 12 games as a freshman and four this year.

Luckily for the Quakers, the one adding offense to the match was their own Andrew Ferry, who netted two in the second half.

"We felt like we'd been all over them in the first half and just weren't finishing," Ferry said. "Once we got one on the board, I think we knew more were coming."

The first goal started with a tackle in the back by left back Alex Fairman, who lofted the ball to Aaron Ross. After Ross put it in the box, a Seton Hall defensive lapse dropped the ball at Ferry's feet.

Fifteen minutes later, Ferry struck again on a cross from Nick Unger, who picked up an assist in his third minute of collegiate competition.

*This article was corrected at 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The subhed erroneously stated that Penn is 4-0; its record is actually 3-0-1.

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