Muhlenberg College • Allentown, Pa.

MEN’S SOCCER Desperation turned to jubilation for the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team when sophomore Greg Leischner scored a goal with 4:37 left in the second overtime for a 1-0 win against Gettysburg. The Mules (7-4-2, 3-3-1), who needed the win much more than the Bullets (9-5-1, 4-3), now find themselves in good position for the Centennial Conference playoffs. CC standings school record points Johns Hopkins 7-0 21 Franklin & Marshall 6-0-1 19 Gettysburg 4-3 12 Swarthmore 4-3 12 MUHLENBERG 3-3-1 10 McDaniel 3-4 9 Dickinson 3-4 9 Washington 2-5 6 Haverford 1-5-1 4 Ursinus 0-6-1 1 Muhlenberg is tied for the fifth and final playoff spot and plays the two teams at the bottom of the standings (Haverford and Ursinus) to close out the regular season next week. The winning play started when a Gettysburg back hit the ball over the end line for a corner kick – the Mules’ first corner kick since the first half. Blake Grannell, one of three seniors recognized prior to the game, lofted the kick in front of the goal, and sophomore Brendan Carroll went up and got a head on it. The Bullet goalie knocked the ball down, right onto the knee of Leischner, who was going up to challenge. The ball glanced off Leischner’s knee and the back of a Gettysburg player before crossing the goal line. The game, a rematch of last year’s CC championship game, would not have reached the second overtime if not for the play of junior Peter Bennett, who tied his career high of nine saves for the second match in a row. His biggest save came with five minutes left in the first overtime, when he tipped a shot from close range over the crossbar. Muhlenberg had two late goals – by Leischner with 12:01 left in regulation and by junior Karim Assous in the first overtime – disallowed by offside calls. Assous and senior Peter Palomaki were robbed on diving saves in the first half. The win was the 500th in the history of the Muhlenberg program, which began in 1943. The Mules have an all-time record of 500-351-71. Click here for box score.

WOMEN’S SOCCER The banner in front of the student union read “Bring your grandparents, it’s Senior Day,” but these seniors aren’t ready to retire just yet. The Muhlenberg women’s soccer team extended its winning streak to six with a 4-0 win over Washington in its final Centennial Conference home game of 2006. The CC standings school record points Johns Hopkins 8-0 24 Gettysburg 7-2 21 MUHLENBERG 6-3 18 Swarthmore 6-3 18 Dickinson 5-3 15 Ursinus 5-3 15 Haverford 4-4 12 McDaniel 3-6 9 Franklin & Marshall 3-6 9 Washington 0-8 0 Bryn Mawr 0-9 0 victory put the Mules (10-5, 6-3) into a tie for third place in the CC. They can clinch a playoff berth with a win at Ursinus in their regular-season finale next Saturday. Eight of Muhlenberg’s nine seniors started against the Shorewomen (3-10-1, 0-8), but it was one of the non-senior starters who scored the first goal. Just 2:12 into the game, junior Maura Hendsey knocked the ball in after a scramble off a corner kick for her first career goal. Sixteen minutes later, senior Andrea Dello Russo took a shot from outside the 18 that bounced short of the goal. Senior Elana Rabinowitz beat the defender to the ball and stuffed it in for her seventh career goal. The rest of the half passed without a score, but the Mules started quickly in the second half to add to their lead. They took three shots in quick succession right off the bat. The first two, by freshmen twins Kimberly and Kasey Hacker, were saved, but Dello Russo put the third one into the net with just 34 seconds elapsed. Kasey Hacker’s header trickled in for the final goal a little more than two minutes later. Seniors Shauna Henley and Kayla Boisvert combined to make five saves. Muhlenberg has outscored its last five CC opponents, 12-1, and reached double digits in wins for the ninth time in 10 seasons. Click here for box score.

Questions or comments? Send mail to falk@muhlenberg.edu Last updated October 21, 2006