Blades named Ivy Player of the Week

The senior captain from Brooklyn, N.Y., was honored for his stellar play to open the season.

Jerel Blades

Midfielder Jerel Blades, a senior captain on the Penn men’s soccer team, has been named Ivy League Player of the Week.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Blades had a foot in two of the Quakers’ three goals in the season opener against Monmouth on Aug. 31. He set up sophomore Joey Bhangdia for the first goal of the game, and scored himself in the 17th minute. Penn won in overtime 3-2 on sophomore Alex Touche’s game-winning header.

The three goals by the Red & Blue are the team’s most in a season-opening game since scoring six against Lehigh in 1984.

In an intra-city matchup against Drexel on Sept. 3, the two teams tied 0-0. It was the first tie between the city rivals since 1967.

Penn travels to Wisconsin this weekend for games against Marquette on Sept. 7 and Milwaukee on Sept. 9.