men’s soccer keeps pushing,
all the way to championship game

The Mules mob Way after the first of his two goals.

The start was almost identical to the first meeting for the Muhlenberg men's soccer team against Franklin & Marshall.

Just like the first game the Mules struck early, this time on a goal from Danny Way in the 14th minute, and controlled much of the first half.

But instead of allowing the Diplomats (9-4-3) to stay in the game as they did in September in Allentown, the Mule offense continued to push into the F&M zone and finished on multiple scoring opportunities, resulting in a 4-0 win in a Centennial Conference semifinal at Swarthmore.

The Mules (11-1-6) advance to the championship game to face Swarthmore, a shootout winner against Johns Hopkins. The Garnet handed Muhlenberg its only loss of the season.

Less than 12 minutes after his first goal, Way put a sliding touch on a Mike Williams cross to put the Mules up 2-0.

Those two goals made Way the third person in CC tournament history to score two goals in a game, joining a group that includes former Mule James Henshaw, who netted a pair against Gettysburg in the 2003 tournament.

"It was nice to just have to turn around and put an easy

Antonini's 16th goal of the season moved him into a tie for sixth place on Muhlenberg's single-season list.

touch on it," Way said of his second goal. "We had to come out and win this game to get a run started, and we played really well today."

The Mules took the two-goal advantage into the locker room at halftime, but were not prepared to sit on the lead. Muhlenberg's offense kept attacking after the break and took advantage of F&M trying to push for a comeback.

Less than 17 minutes into the second half, Williams made a run down the right sideline. He played a perfect cross to the foot of Cody Antonini, who finished with a shot into the left corner of the goal.

Williams tied the CC tournament record for assists in a game,

Way now has 10 goals on the season; he and Antonini are the eighth pair of Mules to reach double figures in a season, the first since Henshaw and Smallwood in 2003.

joining former Mule Evan Smallwood, who registered two assists in that same 2003 game against Gettysburg.

Antonini and Williams would hook up again, but in reverse fashion as Williams struck home the final tally in the 79th minute to give the Mules their 4-0 win.

"Knowing we let them come back at our place was a big motivator for us," Williams said. "We really wanted to come out and take it to them. At halftime we said, 'Sure, we're up 2-0, but let's keep pushing the pedal and get through this.'"

The four goals tied the record for most goals in a CC playoff game and set a new mark for margin of victory in the CC tournament. It also tied the largest margin of victory in Muhlenberg postseason history. The Mules beat Ithaca 4-0 in the 1995 NCAA quarterfinals.

It was the Mules' first postseason win since they won the CC title in 2005.

Muhlenberg will be going for its sixth CC title, but none of the current Mule players have ever hoisted the trophy. And according to Williams, that is more than enough motivation for the final.

"That was a great win for us; it's one of the better games we've had all year," Williams said. "I'm done after this, and I want a conference tournament. We haven't done it yet, so I want to take the trophy back home to Muhlenberg."
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