Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. It’s best to be both.

After missing one golden opportunity after another, the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team finally broke through when a Wilkes defender headed in a free kick by Steve Tenenzapf

Hayden, pictured battling with Steve Uhas for possession in the first half, starts at center back for a defense that has opened the season with back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2002.

for an own goal with 16:54 remaining. That stood up as the only score of the contest as the Mules won their second straight to start the season.

“We were working as hard as we could, but we couldn’t find one,” said Tenenzapf, the speedy sophomore who gave the Mules a spark off the bench for the second game in a row. “We needed something like that to slip us through.”

The winning goal was set up when junior Jonathan Kliewer was spun down by a Wilkes back a few yards outside the penalty box. The foul drew a yellow card and set up Tenenzapf to serve the ball into the box, looking for a Muhlenberg head. Instead he found a Colonel head, but the result was as desired.

The Mules nearly gave the goal right back, as Wilkes came down and won a corner kick. The Colonels’ all-region forward took two shots at point-blank range; the first was cleared away by freshman Samuel Hayden and the second hit the crossbar.

Wilkes had one final shot to tie in the closing seconds, after Muhlenberg received a yellow card

VOLLEYBALL DEFEATED The Muhlenberg volleyball team suffered its third straight loss, swept by a Richard Stockton team coached by former Mule standout Allison (Verduin) Walker. Click here for box score.

with seven seconds left, but a header went over the net.

The Mules could have avoided the hairy ending with a little better finishing. They missed a point-blank shot in the first half and hit two posts in the second. Two pinpoint crosses by Tenenzapf midway through the second half resulted in a header just over the crossbar and a goalie save at close range.

“I knew at the rate we were going one was going to go in,” Tenenzapf remarked. “Regardless of what type of goal it was.”

Click here for box score.