ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell men's soccer dropped a heart breaker in its conference home opener against Penn on Saturday afternoon. Quaker midfielder Forrest Clancy connected for the lone goal in the contest, striking a perfect free kick in the 58^th minute.
 
Penn (5-4-0; 1-0-0 Ivy League) earned a free kick from considerable distance in the Cornell half of the field. Clancy took an ambitious run at net from 35 yards out. He sent an arching shot that dipped and dived towards the right corner of the net, squeezing just inside the connection between the post and crossbar over the outstretched arm of Cornell keeper Zach Zagorski.
 
Cornell (6-3-1; 0-1-0 Ivy League) had the better of the play throughout the contest. The Big Red outshot the Quakers 12-8, while it had several other close calls in the contest. Senior Peter Chodas led the way for the Big Red with three shots, while senior Conor Goepel added two.
 
The Cornell defense looked as though it would be impossible to crack. Senior Devin Morgan made several big plays to stymie Quaker chances, including the clearance of a Duke Lacroix shot that eluded Zagorski and was trickling into the open net.
 
The Big Red warmed to the task offensively as the opening half continued. The team had two huge opportunities in the waning moments. Goepel got a clean look at net on a counter break, but was denied by Quaker keeper Max Polkinhorne in the final minute of the half. Seconds later, sophomore Jack Ferguson made a nice run into the box and fired a shot that was punched out by Polkinhorne.
 
Cornell continued to press for the equalizer in the second session, earning five corner opportunities. The best look came off the foot of Chodas, after collecting a ball in the high slot to the left of net. He lashed a bending howitzer that just barely arched over the crossbar from 11-yards out.
 
Penn was able to take the air out of the ball in the final minutes. The Quakers held possession in the Big Red corner, eliminating the chance for any late heroics from the Big Red.
 
Cornell will return to action next Saturday as it hits the road for the first time in nearly a month. The Big Red will head to Cambridge, Mass., to take on Harvard with opening kick scheduled for 4:30 p.m.