2-0 win gives men’s soccer 2-0 start

Practice has made for a perfect start for the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team in 2007.

In their

Weseloh (second from left) celebrates with teammates Greg Leischner, Assous, Samuel Hayden and Kliewer after his goal.

first road game, the Mules scored once in each half to defeat Wilkes, 2-0 – their second straight 2-0 shutout to open the season. With a brutal stretch of the schedule coming up, Muhlenberg is right where it needs to be.

Following Saturday’s game at Moravian, the Mules are slated to play Franklin & Marshall, Elizabethtown and Gettysburg, all on the road, then return home to face Dickinson, Johns Hopkins and DeSales. They are 3-7-3 against those teams the last two years.

“This was the second game of the season, and we’re trying to get on a winning streak,” said senior Karim Assous. “Even though it’s a non-conference game, it’s important for momentum, and it’s even more important

Sophomore Eric Miller fires off a shot late in the first half. The Mules outshot the Colonels, 6-3, in the first 45 minutes and 14-12 for the game.

because we have that tough schedule ahead of us.”

Assous opened the scoring midway through the first half when he notched his ninth career goal on a play Muhlenberg had worked on in practice earlier in the week. Senior Jonathan Kliewer made a nice run from the back, then slid a pass to sophomore Adison Weseloh on his right. With the Colonel players screaming for an offside call, Weseloh centered the ball to Assous, who had positioned himself for a knockin touch.

The latter two players teamed up for the second goal, early in the second half. Assous’ long pass set up Weseloh for a one-on-one with the Wilkes goalie. Weseloh touched the ball past the charging keeper and shot it into the open net for his second goal in as many games, matching his total from last season.

The Colonels (0-3) pressured the Mules the rest of the way, but senior Peter Bennett made six saves, all in the second half, and the crossbar made one in the 76th minute to preserve the shutout.

“I’m glad we’re off to a good start,” said Assous, who leads active Muhlenberg players with 13 career assists. “Our morale is really high.”

Click here for box score.