PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Penn scored a goal a mere 52 seconds into Tuesday night's match at Rhodes Field and used that momentum to post a 3-0 victory over Villanova in a Philly Soccer Six matchup in Center City.
 
The opening sequence unfolded in rapid fashion. Penn's Patrick Cayelli set up Oliver Pratt, who slammed a shot inside the right post at 52 seconds to give the Quakers the advantage before a minute had elapsed in this contest.
 
"We knew they were going to be good on set pieces and we gave one up so quickly," said Villanova head coach Mark Fetrow. "We repped it out, talked about what they were going to try to accomplish. To give up a goal that early is tough.
 
"But, at the same time, there's 89 minutes left to play. You would have thought that that would have woken us up. Unfortunately, it didn't."
 
The Quakers (3-2-2 overall) turned that early success into a potent first half. Penn generated 17 shots in the game's first 45 minutes to four for the Wildcats.
 
Penn extended the lead to 2-0 at 23:38, when Romeo Dahlen fired a shot from his right foot that found the bottom of the net. Erickson Sakalosky was credited with the assist on the play.
 
Later in the period Sebastian Cutler DeJesus made a pair of huge saves, including a diving stop to his left on a bid that appeared ticketed for inside the right post.
 
"The whole first half I didn't think we stuck to our game plan very well," Fetrow stated. "We had a lot of turnovers that were unforced."
 
The second half saw Villanova apply substantially more heat on the Quakers. Luca Mazzola and Josh Oladele each had shots on goal that were saved by Penn keeper
Philip Falcon III.
 
"I thought in the second half we pushed," said Fetrow. "We had some better possessions, some better consistency. It was better in that second half.'
 
Yet the Wildcats' pressure did not lead to a goal. It was instead Penn that found another score when Dahlen struck again at 82:12.
 
Cutler DeJesus made a season high 10 saves for the Wildcats.
 
Villanova played without co-captain Luke Martelli, who left Friday's match against DePaul with a leg injury in the second half.
 
"We really miss Luke's leadership when he's not on the field," Fetrow said. "The second thing we miss is his engine. He plays a position that is very hard to play and does such a good job end line to end line, being a pest in the attacking third for us."
 
The Wildcats return to BIG EAST action Saturday night when they travel north to Storrs to meet Connecticut, leaders of the East Division. Kickoff is set for just after 6 p.m. and the match will be live streamed on ESPN+.