quick strikes, goalie assists
highlight men’s soccer win

The Muhlenberg men’s soccer team got an offensive boost from an unlikely pair, as well as ‘Old Reliable,’ against Moravian.

Forward Cody Antonini finished with five points (two goals and an assist), while midfielder Nate Squire netted a pair of goals and senior goalkeeper — yes, goalkeeper — Jason Daniels added a pair of assists as the Mules (4-0-1) outran the Greyhounds, 5-2.

With only three shots in his entire career, the defensive-minded

Antonini, seen here en route to his first goal, tied his career high with five points for the second time this season. He is the 15th player in team history to score 25 career goals.

Squire had almost always lived up to his last name. Instead of being the hero and shooting, he said he was always more inclined to make a pass to help one of his teammates.

But in the 10th minute against the Greyhounds, Squire took charge like a knight in shining armor when he drilled a deflected cross into the left side of the net.

While that goal was important - it was the first of Squire’s career and put Muhlenberg ahead 1-0 - it was his second goal that made the sophomore midfielder most proud.

A little more than five minutes into the second half, with Muhlenberg up two, Squire controlled the ball on the left side at the top of Moravian’s box. Spotting an opening, he rifled a shot over a pair of defenders. The ball appeared headed over the crossbar, until it bent hard and found the upper right corner of the goal.

“The first one was obviously a big one because it was the first goal of the game. But the second one, you don’t hit many shots like that. That was not bad, not bad at all,” he joked with a grin. “I really enjoyed that one.”

Before Muhlenberg’s bench could finish celebrating Squire’s artistic goal, the Mule offense struck again a mere 15 seconds later. After Steve Giannacio intercepted a Moravian pass, Tim Leischner found Antonini in the middle of the box, and the junior forward connected on his eighth goal of the season.

The 15 seconds between goals is believed to be a Centennial Conference record. Earlier in the day, two Washington players scored 17 seconds apart. Click here for video of the two goals.

Squire (five shots) and Antonini (eight shots) led a Muhlenberg

Rough Night for Women's Soccer, Volleyball The Muhlenberg women's soccer team fell to top-ranked Messiah, 7-0, in its final match before beginning Centennial Conference play. Click here for box score | complete stats. Volleyball was swept by Moravian for the second time in five days. The Mules and Greyhounds are tied 1-1 in the early Matte Award standings. Click here for box score | complete stats.

blitzkrieg that outshot the Greyhounds 32-9. And with the offense clicking, everybody wanted to get in on the scoring action; even the last line of defense.

In the 29th minute, with Muhlenberg up 1-0, Daniels controlled a ball in the top right

Reilly's goal was the 11th of his career.

corner of the box. He spotted Antonini making a run through the Greyhound defense and punted the ball as far as he could. Antonini beat a pair of defenders to the ball and sidestepped Moravian’s goalie. With nothing but net staring back at him, Antonini calmly buried the shot to put the Mules up by two.

It was Muhlenberg’s first goalkeeper assist since 2001, but Daniels did not settle for simply one.

Twelve minutes later he launched another ball deep into the Greyhound zone. The ball skipped off the top of Antonini’s head directly to Tom Reilly, who was making a run into Moravian’s box. Reilly took a quick dribble and beat the goalkeeper on the near post.

With that second assist, Daniels became the first goalie in Mule history to record two assists in a game. They were also the first two assists of his life, and Daniels said he could get used to the feeling of being a scorer.

“The guys sometimes joke around with me about shooting myself on punts and goal kicks,” Daniels said with a laugh. “Maybe that’s what I should do next.

“I just saw Cody make a run and I saw an opportunity. I was just trying to help our offense and fortunately it worked out. We had some lapses defensively tonight, but the offense was there to pick it up.”
Click here for box score.
Click here for complete stats.