CROSS COUNTRY
Senior Karen Mount crossed the line more than a minute ahead of the second-place runner, leading the Muhlenberg women to their third title in the last four Mule/Falcon Classics.

The Mules outpaced Moravian by 13 points in one of the biggest fields in the race’s history.

Mount, who was joined by freshman Kathryn Niedzwiecki and sophomore Christy Goff in the top 10, is the first Muhlenberg female to take home the gold medal since 2001.

The men held out most of their top runners and still scored an impressive third-place finish. Freshman Stuart Udis came in 11th.
Click here for complete women’s results.
Click here for complete men’s results.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Muhlenberg’s Centennial Conference season did not start off on the right foot, as McDaniel scored just 48 seconds into the contest, but the Mules recovered to forge a 2-2 tie.

Trailing 1-0, sophomore Sara Gearin took a pass from junior Kristen Cioeta and tied the game at the 2:38 mark with her first career goal. The Mules (1-3-2, 0-0-1) took the lead late in the first half on an unassisted goal by sophomore Megan Francis.

The Green Terror recorded the only goal of the second half. Muhlenberg had a 6-3 advantage in shots in the two overtime periods, but could not put home the winner.

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FIELD HOCKEY
The Mules lost their third straight, dropping a 2-0 decision at No. 12 Montclair State. Sophomore Nikki Rhoads made a defensive save early in the game to preserve the scoreless tie, but the Red Hawks (5-0) broke the ice late in the first half and added an insurance tally in the second.

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Union threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat Muhlenberg, 22-14, spoiling the Mules’ home opener and first-ever night game at Scotty Wood Stadium.

Muhlenberg (1-1) made a bid to drive for a potential tying touchdown after taking over at its own 7-yard line with 1:37 on the clock. Senior Tom Kelleher completed three straight passes of 15 yards or more to three different receivers, bringing the Mules to the Dutchmen 35-yard line. But the next four passes fell incomplete, and Union (2-0) was able to run out the clock.

The game looked like it would be an offensive slugfest at the start. Kelleher hit senior Kyle Douglass with a 41-yard touchdown pass on Muhlenberg’s third play from scrimmage, but Union needed only five plays to answer back with a 45-yard touchdown run. A missed extra point left the score 7-6, and so it remained through the rest of the first half as the defenses dug in.

Both teams had scoring chances in the second quarter. The Mules had a touchdown pass negated by a penalty and wound up turning the ball over on downs. On its ensuing possession, Union drove to the Muhlenberg 15 before fumbling the ball away. The Dutchmen also fumbled into the end zone on their next drive.

Union took its first lead on a 30-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. The Mules scored their final points when sophomore Ross Tanner barreled in from 4 yards out with 40 seconds left in the third.

Muhlenberg tried an onside kick following Tanner’s TD, but the Dutchmen recovered and needed only four plays to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Kelleher (141) and sophomore Matt Johnson (113) combined to throw for 254 yards. Douglass was their favorite target, catching five passes for 87 yards.

Senior Phil Gasker led the Muhlenberg defense, which gave up 453 yards, with a career-high 15 tackles and two pass breakups.

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The Mules (5-0), off to their best start since 1994, entered the game ranked 18th in Division III. The Blue Jays (5-1), the defending conference champs, were ranked ninth. They had their 24-match regular-season winning streak snapped.

“This was a thriller; the most intense game I’ve played in in a long time,” said senior back Ryan Smallwood. “The difference was our will to win and hustle. We showed a lot of heart out there when we needed to.”

Muhlenberg needed to show heart right off the bat, after a turnover gave Hopkins a cheap goal in the seventh minute. The Mules didn’t take much time to score the equalizer, as sophomore Wesley Deininger blasted a direct kick high into the net less than five minutes later.

The game went back-and-forth, though without the rapid scoring, the rest of the way. The teams combined for 31 shots, an unusually high total for a game of this magnitude.

Muhlenberg took its first lead when senior Matt Pitetti headed in an endline cross from sophomore Karim Assous, who had slipped through two defenders, with less than two minutes to go in the half.

The Blue Jays had the better of the action early in the first half and finally tied the score off a free kick from the corner of the box.

The game-winning goal was set up when sophomore Jonathan Kliewer won a 50-50 ball near midfield. The ball rolled toward the Hopkins goal, and the keeper came out to get it, but senior Christopher King beat him to it and rolled a shot into the net for his CC-leading sixth goal of the season.

Senior Adam Milberg provided the insurance by converting a penalty kick after classmate James Henshaw was held in the box with about five minutes to play.

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