With the school year off to a start, Penn men's soccer began their season by taking down Loyola Maryland with a 4-0 shutout.
Last season, 2025 College graduates Leo Burney and Stas Korzeniowski were at the center of an Ivy League regular championship and a 14-4-1 overall record. With their graduation along with the five other seniors, this fall is seeing a changing of the guard.
The game opened with Penn (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) winning the kickoff, but Loyola (1-2, 0-0 Patriot) responded promptly with pressure in the opening minutes. The Red and Blue stood their ground and pushed back — keeping play in Loyola’s half. Sophomore forwards Romeo Dahlen and Michael Howard started the action for the Quakers with two early shots on goal that were narrowly deflected by Loyola’s defense.
After sustained effort and multiple chances, the Quakers’ breakthrough came in the 29th minute when senior midfielder Patrick Cayelli delivered the ball across Loyola’s box, with Dahlen punching it in to mark the first goal of the night.
Loyola remained without a shot on goal until the 37th minute, but senior goal keeper David Howard made the first save of his collegiate career to lead the Quakers into the locker room up 1-0.
Penn then picked up the pace in the second half without hesitation. In the opening minutes, the Quakers had a series of attempts on goal. Just four minutes after the whistle blew, the Red and Blue seized the opportunity when a shot from senior defender Oliver Pratt led to a corner kick. Senior forward Jack Wagoner rose above Loyola’s defense to head the ball into the net off the corner placed by Cayelli to secure another goal for Penn.
“The [goal] gave the team another boost of energy and good momentum to start the second half,” Wagoner said.
With the Quakers looking to create on offense, a cross by senior midfielder Erickson Sakalosky was deflected but then put strongly in the back of the net by Cayelli. As the half wound down, Loyola began increasing the pressure and moving into the Quaker’s half. With a foul called on Penn, Loyola was granted a free kick outside the box, which set up an opportunity they had been hoping for. However, in his first game starting for the Quakers, Howard protected Penn’s lead, making his third save of the game.
“We knew they were going to be direct, so managing at the end was critical,” Howard said.
In response, Dahlen scored his second goal of the night with a put back after a low shot from Howard left the Loyola goalie off balance.
Penn changed their lineup with just under seven minutes of play, and the Quaker defense held strong against any last efforts Loyola through their way. The Quakers ended the game outshooting Loyola 18-6, with ten of those shots reaching the goalkeeper.
“I think we all know this was a great result, but it's just one game of 16 that we have right now, so we’re looking forward and trying to constantly build on this and keep taking one step each day,” Cayelli said.
The Quakers hope to build off this strong start of the season with their next game at Seton Hall on Friday.
