Coming off two scoreless away games, Penn men’s soccer sought to bounce back at Rhodes Field but was defeated 1-0 by VCU.
Eager to claim a win on its home turf, Penn’s senior midfielder Erickson Sakalosky opened up the night with the first attempt on goal for Penn (1-2-1, 0-0 Ivy) in just the third minute, but the shot was blocked.
On the other side of the ball, the Quakers defense held strong, holding back early VCU (3-3-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) efforts. Senior goalkeeper David Howard had multiple saves early on, and Penn was largely able to clear the ball and respond on the other half. In the 17th minute, though, the Rams were able to take advantage of a brief lapse in the Quakers’ defensive line with VCU forward Deniss Hayes chipping the ball over Howard to mark the first and only goal of the night.
In a Quakers attempt to respond, junior defender Connor Dawson was able to get a head on the ball, but VCU made the save it needed. The following minutes were slow-going, with both teams struggling to create any productive movement on offense.
The next fighting attempt for the Quakers was a shot by sophomore midfielder Marco Bottene that hit the crossbar. Two corner shots for the Quakers followed, but the Red and Blue were unable to get on the scoreboard. With just 10 seconds in the half, junior defender Joaquin Niehenke got a shot past the Rams defense, but the ball went just high of the net.
Following a slow first half, VCU opened strongly, getting two shots on goal in just the first five minutes. Howard was able to react quickly and save both — giving the Quakers a fighting chance. He would go on to tie his career-high number of saves, stopping five of six shots from finding the back of the net.
“For me, it’s important to just take one game at a time. I feel like I’ve done a decent job,” Howard said. “So far, I’ve had a lot of good guys in front of me. College soccer games are hard to win — the margins are very small — and so I think for us, just as a unit, it’s important to keep our heads up and just keep moving.”
With 30 minutes to play, sophomore forward Michael Howard got a shot off, but it flew just high. Senior midfielder Patrick Cayelli, too, chipped a shot at the goalkeeper, but it was easily caught. The Quakers were unable to match the Rams’ lead.
RELATED:
The following play was largely dominated by VCU’s possession. The Quakers defense held strong, warding off the Rams’ efforts. When VCU managed to get through, David Howard was able to make two more critical saves, keeping the lead to one, despite the intense pressure on the back line.
As the clock ran out, the Red and Blue made their final attempts, with shots from sophomore forward Romeo Dahlen and senior defender Oliver Pratt, but Penn was unable to make up the deficit. The match was held to 1-0 at the end of regulation.
“We have an entire season in front of us. The most important thing is how we respond,” Pratt said. “I think we weren’t dangerous enough tonight, and that cost us having to defend a lot and not being able to tie the game or get back in it. But we definitely have more than enough quality. I think Drexel is a great opportunity to get back to where we want to be.”
Penn hopes to regain control of Rhodes Field with its next three games at home, the first against University City neighbor Drexel on Tuesday.
