M. Soccer | Penn (not Penn State) victorious

Goalkeeper Drew Healy has a simple formula that has propelled the Quakers - the only Division I team that hasn't been scored upon - to early-season heights.

"If you don't give up goals, you don't lose," said Healy, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week. "It's as simple as that."

Last night at Rhodes Field, the Quakers again didn't lose, extending Healy's shutout streak to 680 minutes en route to a 3-0 dismantling of Penn State.

The Red and Blue (5-0-2) entered the match with an all-time record of 5-18-2 against the Nittany Lions, who won last year's contest in a 3-2 double-overtime thriller.

But to the dismay of Happy Valley fans everywhere, the men from State College were simply outmatched.

Alex Grendi struck first for the Quakers in the 19th minute. After a feed from Andrew Ferry on the right side, Grendi found himself one-on-one with the keeper and touched it into the net.

Four minutes later, Ferry took matters into his own feet during a breakaway. The senior flipped a shot over the head of the charging Penn State goalie and watched the ball bounce slowly into the back of the twine.

Scoreless for the next 63 minutes, the Quakers leaned on their pillars in the back, senior Ryan Porch and Ivy League Rookie of the Week Jake Levin.

The two were stingy all night, using their height to head away any potential attack and taking down several Nittany Lions without penalty.

"You want to make it as hard as possible for them to get the ball," Porch said. "You want to be in their head mentally and on their back physically."

The Quakers had 11 fouls to their opponent's 21.

But the Nittany Lions came out roaring after the break, forcing Penn to adapt.

"[Penn State] made some adjustments at halftime that gave us a lot of trouble for 30-35 minutes of the second half," coach Rudy Fuller said. "A 2-0 lead is not a safe one; had they made it 2-1, it's a completely different game."

By a matter of inches, Penn kept its goal clean. Two shots were blasted off the crossbar and some loose play in front of the net kept the shutout streak precarious, but Healy had all the right moves and managed two more saves.

Quakers midfielder Kevin Unger iced it in the 86th minute with a one-timer from 20 yards out.

The Red and Blue haven't been undefeated seven games into the season since 1972, and they've already cracked the top 30 on CollegeSoccerNews.com. Healy is climbing the NCAA record book for consecutive scoreless minutes, making his way into the top 20.

"After the season, there'll be time to look back, but until the season's over, those thoughts haven't entered my head," Healy said.

When asked about being the only team in the country without a goal against, Porch similarly replied that he had no thoughts on the matter.

"Right now the sky's the limit," he said. "We haven't even reached our potential."

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