tennis, men's golf

Men's soccer ties F&M in rough CC opener

For the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team, Sunday evening’s Centennial Conference opener against Franklin & Marshall brought a much more physical style of play to Varsity Field.

Daniels made three saves, and added several key plays against F&M.

From the opening whistle, the tackles were rough, elbows were flying and jerseys were stretched to their limits. The two teams combined for almost as many fouls (32) as shots (33).

Ninety minutes of regulation was not enough for the two evenly matched teams. Nor was 20 minutes of overtime, as they began CC play with a 1-1 tie.

The Mules generated multiple scoring opportunities in the early stages and finally struck in the 14th minute when Mike Williams drew a foul 10 yards outside F&M’s box.

Cody Antonini sent the ensuing free kick into the box, where it was punched away by the Diplomats goalkeeper. But the ball sailed directly to Nate Squire, who leaped to head the ball.

With the keeper out of the net, Squire’s header lofted through the air and nestled under the crossbar to put the Mules ahead, 1-0.

Squire has three goals in the last two games to move into a tie for second on the team in goals scored.

Muhlenberg (4-0-2, 0-0-1) controlled the rest of the first half, only allowing one shot, but could not find the goal again. The Diplomats showed renewed energy after halftime and tied the game in the 67th minute.

The two teams traded scoring opportunities, but could not capitalize before the end of regulation.

In overtime, goalie Jason Daniels made three clutch plays that saved the game for Muhlenberg. Twice he made sliding grabs to fend off F&M (3-2-1, 0-0-1) fast breaks. And with less than three minutes to play in the second overtime, he made a leaping grab to pick off a Diplomat crossing pass while colliding in midair with an F&M forward.

Muhlenberg’s best chance to score after regulation came in the 93rd minute when Danny Way got his head on the ball in front of F&M’s net, but the Diplomat goalie knocked Way out of the air and cleared the ball.

With the tie, the Mules are undefeated through the first six games for the first time since 1995. That squad started the year 9-0-2 and reached the NCAA semifinals.

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