NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Ivy League play got off to a good start for the Yale men's soccer team.
Kahveh Zahiroleslam scored midway through the first half to give Yale a 1-0 lead. Penn, though, had a quick response, scoring just 1:52 later to tie the score. The Quakers then tallied the game winner at 74:21 to knock off the Bulldogs 2-1 on a chilly night at Reese Stadium.
Zahiroleslam's early goal came off a corner kick.
Max Rogers sent a cross into the box that deflected out to
TJ Presthus. Presthus made a nifty pass through traffic to Zahiroleslam, who fired a shot into the far corner for his third goal of the season.
The lead, though, was short lived. Penn's Ben Stitz left-footed a short cross from Ben Do into the back of the net less than two minutes later.
The play was even for much of the second half, but the Quakers broke the tie when Leo Burney scored off an assist from Isaac McGinnis.
The loss was Yale's first of the season. The Bulldogs are now 4-1-3.
Penn (6-1-1) has won five straight games.
"Definitely a disappointing performance tonight, and we were never able to pull ourselves into the right mindset," said
Kylie Stannard, the 5K Corral Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Credit to Penn for being more locked in and being much sharper as a collective group than us tonight. They played exactly how we prepared for them, but they had a bit more hunger and sharpness than us, which is something we should be able to control. They earned it tonight and we did not. While it hurts, it is a good reflection moment for us collectively to improve in some areas and refocus on being harder to play against, which is what is needed to compete successfully in this league. It will be great to have a week before the next game."
Yale travels to Princeton next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.
