Volleyball, Cross country, Field hockey

(Hat) Trick or Treat

Two newcomers to Muhlenberg scored three goals apiece to lead their respective soccer teams to 4-0 wins. It’s the first time ever that the Mule men’s and women’s teams got hat tricks on the same day.

Dessimone Decimates St. Joe’s Freshman Renee Dessimone made quite a collegiate debut, scoring three goals to lead the Muhlenberg women’s soccer team to a 4-0 win against St. Joseph’s in the first round of the Cougar Classic at Kean. The Mules will face the host school, a 6-0 winner over Gwynedd-Mercy, in the second round. Dessimone, who scored twice in the first half and once in the second, is the fifth Mule freshman to score a hat trick, but the first to do it in her first game. Junior Kimberly Hacker netted the other goal in a game in which Muhlenberg enjoyed a 32-4 advantage in shots and substituted early and often. “It was a good game for us to work on everything we’ve been practicing,” said Hacker. “It was fun to get together and see how we could play. Everyone had fun today.” The freshman class enjoyed in the fun, as two other rookies, Nicolette Miller and Meghan O'Grady, notched assists, and Michele Toher made three saves in the second half to preserve the shutout. “[The freshmen] are going to impact us a lot,” said Hacker. “They fit in well with the team.” Click here for box score.

A 3-2 home loss to William Paterson on opening night left the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team anxious to get back on the field and show what it could do against the next opponent.

Hello, Neumann.

The Mules busted out some major teamwork and shut out the Knights 4-0 Saturday at Varsity Field.

“We sat down and reflected about Friday’s game,” said sophomore

Rubin’s assists were the first two of his career.

Evan Rubin, who had two assists. “We woke up early and had a team meeting. We knew we had to just get up and keep going.”

After being held scoreless the first 45 minutes, the Mules made a formation change, putting more men up front. And the change worked. Brendan Carroll, assisted by Rubin and senior Greg Leischner, scored less than three minutes into the second half.

“I think that first goal was important,” said junior Samuel Hayden. “After what happened last night, it really motivated us and moved us forward. It paved the way to keep goals coming.”

And they came. Sophomore Tom Reilly, in just the second game of his Muhlenberg career, scored three times. The first came on the second rebound off a Steven Tenenzapf corner kick. Tenenzapf’s kick was headed by Hayden and blocked by Neumann goalie Robert Mastrillo. Reilly got the rebound, an his shot was blocked again by Mastrillo. But Reilly hit the second rebound into the net, putting the Mules up 2-0.

Reilly’s second goal came off a free kick taken by Hayden. Hayden’s long cross was chested by senior Billy Dalton and netted by Reilly.

Less than 10 minutes to go, Reilly and the Mules notched another one, assisted by Rubin.

“I just had three good chances,” said Reilly, the first Muhlenberg player to register a hat trick since Chris Rowley in 2000. “We just all came together and connected really well in the second half.”

“We saw everything better than last night,” said junior Eric Miller. “We saw who needed the ball, who was open. We were talking better and playing better as a unit.”

With four goals in one half and outshooting the Knights 20-7, Saturday’s game has fired up the Mules for the rest of the season.