UMass knocks off Penn in the NCAA soccer playoffs
The Minutemen posted a 1-0 victory on a goal by Alec Hughes. Episcopal graduate Alex Geczy starred in goal for the winners.
Penn’s men’s soccer season came to an end Sunday night in a 1-0 NCAA Tournament loss to Massachusetts at Rhodes Field.
Sunday’s second-round matchup marked the first meeting between sixth-seeded Penn (14-4-1) and UMass (12-3-5). Penn, which received a first-round bye and had not played for a week, looked sluggish out of the gate. UMass, which won on Thursday, outshot the Quakers 7-3 in the first half and dominated possession. Graduate forward Alec Hughes scored the match’s lone goal in the 46th minute.
“The instant reaction really is disappointed for the group that they don’t get a chance to play on another week,” said Penn coach Brian Gill. “In a single-elimination tournament, there’s high stakes. Unfortunately, we suffered on the other side of it.”
In their last outing, the Quakers fell, 3-1, to Princeton in the Ivy League final.
Penn started off its season hot, upsetting No. 3 Pitt, 1-0, to open the newly renovated Rhodes Field. The Quakers’ new home saw a lot of winning in 2024. For the 14th time in program history, Penn went 7-0 in Ivy League play.
“Hopefully the guys will look back and really appreciate the accomplishments [of the season],” Gill said. “We don’t get this game here in this tournament without having those successes.”
Minutemen come out shooting
Hughes, the Atlantic 10 Conference offensive player of the year, led the Minutemen with three shots on goal in the first half.
Hughes’ shot on goal was off target in the 35th minute. As Penn’s sophomore goalkeeper, Phillip Falcon III, looked to roll the ball back into play, it was intercepted by Hughes, who shot on goal again. Hughes’ shot hit the crossbar, giving UMass’ Johan Feilscher a chance at a header. Stepping into the goal, senior defender Leo Burney made a stunning save for Penn, heading the ball away.
In the 38th minute, Penn had the opportunity to break the stalemate with the first corner kick of the match. The pass landed in sophomore defender Connor Dawson’s lap, but Dawson’s shot was off target, hitting the crossbar and landing out of bounds. The half ended scoreless.
Geczy in goal
In the 46th minute, Hughes finally saw a shot hit the back of the net. A UMass header set up Hughes inside the 6-yard box. Off his right foot, Hughes placed the ball in the top left corner of the goal — just out of the reach of Falcon.
In the 71st minute, it momentarily seemed that Penn’s Stas Korzeniowski, the team’s leading scorer, had tied it, but he was ruled offside on the play. A review confirmed the call on the field. Korzeniowski ended with four shots on net.
UMass senior keeper Alex Geczy was lights out. As the Minutemen played keep-away after their lone goal, Geczy put a stop to Penn again and again. The keeper, who played for Episcopal Academy, ended his night with seven saves.
“It’s euphoric. I can’t even describe it,” Geczy said of returning to play in Philadelphia. “My dad’s actually a professor at Wharton here. This is the first time I’ve stepped on the field, but [I have] been going to these games since I was a kid.”
UMass will face 11th seed Virginia in the third round.