Quakers cruise through Penn Soccer Classic

Sloppy but satisfying.

That was the sentiment for Penn men’s soccer after two rainy, muddy, yet comfortable victories over Stony Brook and Long Island.

Penn improved to 5-2-1 over the weekend, finishing off its non-conference slate in style.

Despite a shuffled schedule due to rain, Penn managed to stay focused and stormed to a three-goal lead over the Seawolves (4-4-2) in just 18 minutes on Saturday.

“We don’t really mind when the game starts — the approach is the same, and I think we showed that today” senior defenseman Jake Levin told Penn Athletics.

Senior midfielder Christian Barreiro opened up scoring when he collected a feed from sophomore defender Nicky Yin and banked it in off the right post for his third goal of the year. Five minutes later, the Quakers were at it again when freshman Duke Lacroix deftly buried the assist from fellow attacker Stephen Baker from just outside the box. The third goal came courtesy of Levin, who found himself all alone in front of the net after a bouncing corner. Despite being a back, Levin didn’t hesitate and skillfully added the third tally with his left foot.

With a vocal fanbase behind him, Levin was all smiles after the game.

“I haven’t scored in a while, but I’m happy to contribute on the offensive end,” he told Penn Athletics. “It’s been a goal of mine all season.”

Despite the fast start, the Red and Blue seemed a just little bit off in the offensive third.

Coach Rudy Fuller agreed.

“I don’t think either team was at the top of the game at the start, both teams were kind of sluggish, similar to the weather, we did kind of struggle to get this game in, and I think it showed.”

With that in mind, Fuller said his team’s start was crucial, both for the game at hand and in preparation for Sunday.

“We were certainly happy to get the three goals early,” Fuller said. “We really tried to manage the minutes today, and getting out to that lead helped us.”

The Quakers subbed early and often, taking advantage of the unlimited subs rule Penn brought in nine extras and even brought starters back in after taking them out early in the first half. The in-game rest seemed to mitigate the lack of an off day as the Red and Blue easily dispatched Long Island (2-4-2), 4-1, on Sunday evening.

Penn now heads into Ivy League play on a roll ­— one it hopes to continue next Saturday against Cornell.

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