Penn turned the corner this weekend, shedding their winless streak with 2 wins at the Princeton Invitational. The Quakers faced Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday without their top scorer, Travis Cantrell, who was forced to sit out after racking up 2 yellow cards at Georgetown. Despite the disadvantage, Penn saw goals from Stephen Baker, Duke Lacroix and Louis Schott while goalkeeper Max Kurtzmax thwarted the Knights offense with 10 saves. Penn earned their first win of the season against FDU with a 3-2 decision.

The Quaker offense took Friday’s spark and turned it into fire on Sunday afternoon against Rider. Mariano Gonzalez scored 1, Duke Lacroix contributed 2 and Stephen Baker scored 4 against the winless Broncs. Baker, who was scoreless prior to this weekend, is the first Penn player to score 4 goals in one game since 1977. His and Lacroix’s performance moves them to the top of the Philly Soccer 6 in goals scored with 5 each. Penn left the Princeton Invitational with a 7-2 win over Rider.

The Explorers visited the Wildcats on Thursday afternoon at the Villanova Soccer Complex. Philly Soccer 6 top scorer Kyle Soroka put the Wildcats on the board early with a goal in the 2nd minute. Explorers goalkeeper John McCarthy blocked a total of 7 shots on goal, but allowed Nova’s Soroka to squeak in a second in the 68th minute. The Explorers responded minutes later with a goal from Rob Friskey, but couldn’t find the net again. Nova secured the home win 2-1.

The Hawks hung tough on Saturday against possibly their toughest opponent of the 2012 season. Junior midfielder Pat McGlynn struck first against nationally ranked Cornell with a goal off an assist from Jake Nelson in the 7th minute. The undefeated Big Red hammered goalkeeper Andrew D’Ottavi, but didn’t find the net until the opening moments of the secondhalf with goals in the 47th and 49th minutes. Jake Nelson knocked in the equalizer for the Hawks with a goal in the 72nd minute, but Cornell scored the game winner only minutes later. Cornell bested the Hawks 3-2 in front of 200 fans at Charles F. Berman Field in Ithaca, NY.

Drexel made the trip to Virginia on Tuesday to face the Cavaliers. The Dragons applied pressure on the Virginia defense with 6 shots on goal, but came up scoreless at the final whistle.  Virginia blanked Drexel 2-0 in front of 821 fans at Klockner Stadium.

Drexel started CAA conference play on Saturday against Old Dominion who is ranked No. 2 by NSCAA in the South Atlantic. The Dragons gave a strong performance for a home crowd of 536 with goals from Mark Donohue and Fabio Machado and 2 from Michele Pataia. Drexel took the match 4-1 and sent ODU home with their first loss of the season.

The Owls hosted Saint Peter’s on Friday at Temple’s Ambler Sports Complex. Senior midfielder Cody Calafiore took control for the Owls in the 14th minute with a goal off a combined assist from Jared Martinelli and Nolan Hemmer. Chas Wilson found the net in the 6th minute with help from Vaughn Spurrier. Jersey City’s Peacocks managed to score in the 67th minute, but were outmatched by Temple who had 13 shots on goal and secured the win 2-1.

Temple closed out the weekend at home against Howard, blanking the Bison with a 4-0 win. The Owls saw 2 goals from Jared Martinelli and 1 each from Jake Lister and Nolan Hemmer.