Monthly Archives: September 2012

Weekend Preview

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The last time every Muhlenberg team was on the road, two weekends ago, it turned out to be a very successful day, with the Mules going 5-1 at McDaniel. How will the road trips go tomorrow? Here’s a short preview:

Men’s Soccer at Haverford (Saturday, 1:00)

The Mules (5-2, 2-1) look to bounce back from last night’s home loss to Swarthmore with a game against defending Centennial Conference runner-up Haverford (5-4, 2-1). The teams are currently tied for second place in the CC, just a point behind Swarthmore and Dickinson. Haverford’s lone CC loss was to Johns Hopkins, a team Muhlenberg beat.

The series has been one-sided since the start of CC play, with the Mules winning 17 of 19 meetings. The Fords’ lone series win during that span came in 2001 (the 1998 game ended in a tie). Muhlenberg won 2-0 last year.

Live stats: http://www.haverford.edu/athletics_stats/soccerm/statslive/xlive.htm

Live video: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/haverford.portal

Cross Country at Dickinson Long/Short Invitational

It will be the biggest meet of the season to date for both Mule teams, who took first place at Cedar Crest last week. The women, ranked seventh in the region, will compete against two of the teams ranked ahead of them – Dickinson (2) and Elizabethtown (6).

Results: http://www.motiontiming.com/node/85

Field Hockey at Dickinson (Saturday, 11:00)

Both of these teams were 5-12 last year. The Mules (5-3, 1-2) have already matched their 2011 win total, and the Red Devils (4-5, 0-3) are just one away. All five of Muhlenberg’s wins are by one goal, two in overtime, and Dickinson has played a pair of overtime games. Last year the teams played a wild game that came down to the final seconds, with the Mules holding on for a 4-3 win.

Volleyball at Dickinson (Saturday, 11:30)

Muhlenberg (8-5, 1-2) is looking to get back on the winning track after dropping back-to-back CC matches to Haverford and Johns Hopkins last week. Dickinson (1-11, 0-3) has lost seven straight. The Mules have not won in Carlisle since 2001 but took last year’s meeting at home, 3-1. 

Football at Susquehanna (Saturday, 1:00)

Muhlenberg (3-1, 2-1) looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season, last week to Johns Hopkins, against a Susquehanna team that, although winless in the Centennial Conference, is still dangerous. The Crusaders (1-3, 0-3) led undefeated Gettysburg in the fourth quarter last week and lead the CC with a plus-8 turnover margin. The Mules are plus-5 themselves and have not turned the ball over in their last 10 quarters.

Muhlenberg leads the series, 11-9, and has won both meetings since Susquehanna joined the CC for football. The Mules travel well, especially on defense – they’ve allowed one touchdown or fewer in five of their last eight road games.

Live stats: http://www.susqu.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm

Live video: http://www.americaonesports.com/partner_members.asp?id=297

Live audio: http://www.susqu.edu/wqsu-fm/88.9_wqsu-fm_the_pulse/wqsu_home.html

Women’s Soccer at Dickinson, 5:00

This will be Muhlenberg’s fifth game against an opponent ranked in the top 10 in the region. The Mules (3-6-1, 1-2) beat Johns Hopkins (3t), lost to Messiah (1) by three and suffered one-goal losses to Haverford (3t) and Wilkes (9t). Dickinson (6-2, 1-1), ranked sixth in the region, also lost 1-0 to Haverford and is coming off a 2-0 loss to Messiah. The Red Devils have won the last five series meetings, the last two by a final of 1-0.

Men’s Tennis at ITA Southeast Regional (Saturday-Sunday); Women’s Golf at Gettysburg Fall Invitational (Saturday)

Men’s tennis concludes its fall season; women’s golf plays the second of its three scheduled fall matches. 

Tennis tournament page: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=131284

 

Weekend Preview

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Muhlenberg welcomes five Johns Hopkins teams for some key games on Homecoming Weekend. Plus, the cross country teams have a race just a few blocks from campus.

Football vs. Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 2:00)

Johns Hopkins vs. Muhlenberg is always one of the big games in Centennial Conference football, and this year is no exception. Both teams have dominated their first three opponents, the Blue Jays outscoring them 119-35 and the Mules 81-7.

Hopkins, ranked 16th in one Division III poll and 24th in another, brings in a regular-season winning streak of 17 games. Muhlenberg has won six straight at home, the last three by shutout.

The Mules are the only Division III team to have played three games this season and allowed no more than one touchdown. (In all NCAA divisions, the only other schools to do that are Division II Indiana (Pa.) and FBS Florida State.) They’ll be challenged to keep that streak alive against a Blue Jay offense that averages nearly 500 yards per game.

The winner of this game has gone on to play in the NCAA Tournament every year but one since 2001.

Live stats: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/livestats/xlive.htm

Live video: http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Live television: Service Electric TV2

Field Hockey vs. Johns Hopkins (Friday, 7:00)

Two teams coming off losses to nationally ranked opponents look to get back on the winning track. The Mules (4-2, 1-1) fell to No. 12 Haverford, 2-0, on Wednesday, while the Blue Jays (3-3, 0-1) lost to No. 1 New Jersey, 5-1, on Sunday. Hopkins also dropped its CC opener to Washington, 2-1 in overtime.

The Blue Jays lead the all-time series, 16-5, but Muhlenberg’s last two wins came in 2008 and 2009 when Hopkins was ranked in the top 10 in Division.III.

Live stats: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/fhlive/xlive.htm

Live video: http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Volleyball vs. Johns Hopkins (Friday, 7:00)

The young Muhlenberg (8-4, 1-1) team will face a challenge in a Hopkins squad that has won 26 consecutive regular-season matches and is receiving votes in the national Division III poll. 

Live stats: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/vblive/topview.htm

Cross Country at Falcon Classic (Saturday, 10:00)

The Muhlenberg teams compete for the first time in three weeks at a meet in which they have had success. One or both Mule squads took first place the last three times they’ve run in this meet, including the men last year.

Women’s Soccer vs. Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 3:00)

Muhlenberg looks to avoid going to 0-3 in the CC against a Johns Hopkins team that is ranked sixth in Division III and has won 14 straight CC games. The last loss before that streak started was in the last meeting in Allentown; the Mules beat Blue Jay teams ranked in the top 10 in both 2009 and 2010.

Live stats: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/wsoclive/xlive.htm

Men’s Soccer vs. Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 7:00)

The Homecoming Weekend athletic slate concludes with what is always an entertaining matchup. The Mules (4-1, 1-0) and Blue Jays (3-3, 1-0) have combined for 13 championships in the CC’s 19-year history. Muhlenberg, ranked seventh in the Mid-Atlantic Region, is winless (0-5-2) against Hopkins since 2005, although only one of those games was decided by more than one goal.

Live stats: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/msoclive/xlive.htm

Live video: http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Women’s Tennis at ITA Southeast Regional (Saturday-Sunday)

The Mules travel to Mary Washington University in Virginia for the annual regional competition.

Weekend Preview

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Not all of Muhlenberg’s campus will be packing up and heading to McDaniel tomorrow – just most of the fall athletes. Except for football, the teams will be playing their Centennial Conference openers, so it’s a big day. Here’s a look at the matchups, in order of game time:

Volleyball at McDaniel (Saturday, 12:00); vs. Goucher (Saturday, 2:00)

Two teams on the rise will try to get a leg up on the CC season. McDaniel (3-6) has already surpassed its win total from all last season, when it went 0-25, and Muhlenberg (6-3) is closing in on its 2011 total of 10 wins. McDaniel leads the all-time series, 15-5, but the teams have split the last four years, with all of those matches ending in 3-0 sweeps.

live video: http://www.mcdanielathletics.tv/

Men’s Soccer at McDaniel (Saturday, 1:00)

The regionally ranked Mules (3-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season to knock off Moravian, 5-0, on Wednesday. McDaniel is 2-3. Muhlenberg’s 31-7-1 all-time series lead includes a 16-2-1 mark in CC contests. The Mules are undefeated (9-0-1) in the last 10 meetings with the Green Terror, but from 2005 to 2009 the games were all decided by one goal, and the score was 2-0 the last two years.

live stats: http://www.mcdanielathletics.com/livestats/landing

Football at McDaniel (Saturday, 2:00)

Muhlenberg opened CC play with a 21-0 win against Franklin & Marshall last week; McDaniel, the only winless school in the league, lost to Moravian, 21-7. Bair Stadium used to be a house of horrors for the Mules, who went from 1990 to 2006 without winning there, but they’ve captured their last two games in Westminster. The Green Terror leads the all-time series, 22-17-3.

Through two games, Muhlenberg leads the CC in pass efficiency (146.3 rating), while McDaniel is last in pass efficiency defense (164.8).

http://www.mcdanielathletics.com/livestats/landing

Women’s Soccer at McDaniel (Saturday, 4:00)

McDaniel is off to a 3-0 start for the first time in 10 seasons. Muhlenberg is 2-3-1 following Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to No. 4 Messiah. The Mules are 7-0-1 in their last eight games against the Green Terror with six straight wins.

live stats: http://www.mcdanielathletics.com/livestats/landing

Field Hockey at McDaniel (Saturday, 6:30)

The grand finale matches up two teams looking to return to the CC playoffs. Muhlenberg is 3-1 for the first time since 2007, when it last qualified for the playoffs, and received votes in the national poll. McDaniel is 3-2 and averaging 3.0 goals per game; the Mules have allowed only five goals in four games. Muhlenberg leads 10-9 in a series in which the road team has won the last three meetings.

live stats: http://www.mcdanielathletics.com/livestats/landing

Men’s Tennis at Centennial Conference Invitational (Saturday and Sunday)

The Mules test themselves against the rest of the conference in an individual tournament.

Men’s Golf at Guy W. Kuhn Invitational (Sunday and Monday)

The Mules travel to Allegheny for their first two-day tournament of the season; when it’s done they’ll have played four official rounds in seven days.

 

 

 

 

Band of Brothers

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It was a soccer game that could have been an episode of Family Ties.

When the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team defeated Moravian, 5-0, last night, four of the players who contributed were two sets of brothers – junior midfielder Jacob Joseph, freshman forward Dan Joseph, junior forward Jeremy Katz and sophomore midfielder Oliver Katz.

Men’s soccer brothers 2012: Oliver Katz, Jeremy Katz, Jacob Joseph, Dan Joseph (left to right)

Their coach was Sean Topping ’98, the oldest of three Topping brothers to play for the Mules. And patrolling the Greyhound sideline was Todd Ervin ’98, the middle of three Ervin brothers to play for Muhlenberg.

Brothers wearing the Cardinal & Grey is a Mule tradition that dates back almost 20 years. The Josephs, Katzes, Toppings and Ervins are just four of nine sets of brothers to have played for Muhlenberg during that span: 

  • Cecconi        David (2003), Matt (2007-10)
  • Ervin            Eric (1991-94), Todd (1994-97), Dave (1996-99)
  • Hohman       Eric (1994-97), Johan (1996-99)
  • Joseph         Jacob (2010-12), Dan (2012)
  • Katz             Jeremy (2010-12), Oliver (2011-12)
  • Leischner     Greg (2005-08), Tim (2008-11)
  • Ryan            Pat (2000-02), Shannon (2000-02)
  • Smallwood   Evan (2000-03), Ryan (2002-05)
  • Topping       Sean (1994-97), Shane (1996-99), Peter (1998-2001)

The City of Brotherly Love may be about an hour south of Muhlenberg, but Varsity Field in Allentown is the “Pitch of Brotherly Love.” 

Men’s soccer brothers 1997: Eric Hohman, Todd Ervin, Sean Topping (standing left to right); Johan Hohman, Dave Ervin, Shane Topping (kneeling left to right)

 

“It was pretty neat back then – at one point we had three sets of brothers and everyone was starting or contributing,” said Topping, who also played with a son of a former Muhlenberg varsity player (Brian Krug ’97, son of Lee Krug ’68) and coached another (Justin Henning ’04, son of Jon Henning ’78).

“In high school, you don’t think about it, but when you’re in college and afterwards when you look back you realize how neat it was – especially in our case, winning championships and going to NCAA Tournaments together.”

Jacob Joseph played in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman in 2010 and would welcome the opportunity to go back with his brother as a teammate, although it’s not something he pushed for.

“I told him that I really enjoyed my experience and that he would fit in well,” said Jacob. “But I didn’t want to influence his decision by encouraging him too much. I wanted it to be his decision.”

Jacob Joseph (15) and Dan Joseph (right) following the latter’s goal

Brotherly love turned into brotherly pride last night when Dan Joseph scored his first career goal seconds after entering the game late in the first half. Just four games into his career, Dan is only one behind Jacob for the family lead in goals scored for the Mules.

“I’m excited for him,” said Jacob, who was on the field at the time to help his brother celebrate. “He’s a good player and a hard worker, and he deserves it.”

The Katz brothers got into the act in the second half, with Jeremy assisting Oliver on the third goal of the game. It was the first career goal for Oliver and the first career point for Jeremy. It also was the first brother-to-brother pass resulting in a goal since 2003, when Ryan Smallwood assisted Evan against McDaniel in what became a Centennial Conference championship season for the Mules.

It’s no coincidence that the success of the program (an active streak of 26 consecutive non-losing seasons) has gone hand-in-hand with the steady stream of brothers that have come through the Red Doors of Muhlenberg.

“It says a lot about the program that an older sibling would come here and a younger sibling would follow,” said Topping. “It makes it a close-knit family when you have so many brothers come through, and others can see it.”

“Muhlenberg is a homey place,” says Jacob Joseph. “People who come here really enjoy being here. When [prospective students] get an inside view from a family member, they tend to like it.”

Weekend Preview

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The second weekend of the 2012-13 athletic year features a volleyball tournament, a throwback soccer rematch, two spring teams opening up competition … and the football home opener with a coach going for a major milestone.

Football vs. Franklin & Marshall (Saturday, 1:00)

It’s the home opener for Muhlenberg and the Centennial Conference opener for both teams. The CC promises to be especially competitive this year after going 7-3 in non-conference games last week. Included in that record are the Mules’ 27-7 win at The Apprentice School and the Diplomats’ last-second 35-28 win against a Washington and Lee team that was 8-2 last year.

The defenses will be on alert to stop three hot quarterbacks. F&M’s E.J. Schneider was named CC player of the week after throwing for 270 yards and rushing for 110, while Muhlenberg QBs Dan Deighan and Joe Carlucci combined to pass for 337 yards.

F&M leads the all-time series, 52-42-1, although the Mules won last year’s matchup, 34-13.

Mule head coach Mike Donnelly enters the game with a career record of 99-61 and goes for his 100th win against John Troxell, who was his assistant at Muhlenberg for four years before taking the head reins at F&M.

live stats: www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/livestats/xlive.htm

live video: www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Volleyball hosts Buttermaker Tournament (Friday vs. Centenary, 3:00; vs. King’s, 7:00; Saturday opponents TBD, 10:00 and 2:00)

Coming off its rousing five-set win against DeSales on Wednesday, Muhlenberg hosts the 15th Buttermaker Tournament. The Mules (4-1) are seeking their first title since 2005. This year’s nine-team field includes defending champion Moravian as well as Salisbury, a team that went 32-4 last year and is currently receiving votes in the AVCA Division III poll.

live stats (first three Muhlenberg matches): www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/vblive/topview.htm

live video (first three Muhlenberg matches): www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

tournament page: www.muhlenberg.edu/main/athletics/buttermaker/index.html

Men’s Soccer at Ithaca (Saturday, 1:00)

One of the biggest wins in program history came in 1995, when the Mules beat Ithaca 4-0 in an NCAA quarterfinal game at Varsity Field to advance to the “Final Four.” Nothing of the sort is at stake here, although Muhlenberg (2-0) is ranked 11th in Division III. Ithaca is 1-1-1.

live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ithaca/msoc/scoreboard.aspx

Women’s Soccer at Delaware Valley (Saturday, 12:00); at Gwynedd-Mercy (Saturday, 12:00)

The Mules (1-1-1) play a pair of games in the Philadelphia area this weekend. They played the same two teams back-to-back last year, winning both games by three goals.

live stats (Gwynedd-Mercy game): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52208023/WS/xlive.htm

live video (Gwynedd-Mercy game): http://gmcgriffins.nmtvsports.com

Field Hockey at Drew (Saturday, 5:00)

The Mules (2-1) try to keep the momentum from Wednesday’s 2-1 upset of No. 9 Montclair State in their first road game of the season. Drew is 3-0 with three one-goal wins.

live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/drew/fhockey/scoreboard.aspx

Men’s Golf at Gettysburg Invitational (Saturday, 10:30)

Men’s Tennis hosts Mule Fall Classic (Sunday, 9:00)

The men’s golf and men’s tennis teams open their spring seasons. The four-team tennis tournament features Moravian, New York Tech and Wilkes.

 

 

A Trip to Build On

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Junior defensive back Andrew Onimus writes about the unique trip taken by the Muhlenberg football team last weekend.

This past weekend, the Muhlenberg football team experienced a rare trip. Our first regular season game was scheduled for Saturday, September 1, against an unfamiliar team, the Apprentice School Builders, located in Newport News, Virginia.

After grabbing a quick breakfast and a boxed lunch at 7 a.m. on Friday morning, we packed up the buses and were on our way to Newport News. The bus ride was a long one lasting about seven hours, which meant ample time for movies. The defensive bus had plenty of laughs as we watched Fast Five, Animal House, and Dumb and Dumber, while the offensive bus watched Fast Five and Remember the Titans.

When we arrived at The Apprentice School’s football field, we were immediately greeted by longtime Newport News Shipyard employees. Since we had some time to burn, they agreed to give us a grand tour of the shipyard. As per shipyard policy, they began by passing a box around the bus and collecting all devices capable of taking photos, including cell phones, iPods and, of course, Chris Galletta’s iPad.

After the security measures were taken care of, we took a three-minute ride escorted by Newport News police to the main gate of the shipyard. Then our tour guides began telling us anything and everything there was to know about the shipyard and answering all of our questions along the way. The 45-minute bus tour was both relaxing and particularly interesting.

The shipyard has over 19,000 employees ranging in hundreds of specialties and fields. They specialize in the building of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines used by the U.S. Navy. During the tour, we saw the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which was launched in 1984, saw her first action in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and is now being refueled and overhauled in the shipyard. The tour guides then pointed out the recently completed submarine building facilities due to rising demand of subs by the U.S. Navy.

We also saw the shipyard’s major project, the USS Gerald R. Ford. Construction on the 10 billion dollar, 1,100-foot aircraft carrier began in 2005, and the schedule calls for the ship to join the U.S. Navy’s fleet in 2015. The rest of the tour included an overview of the day-to-day progressions that occur in the massive shipyard.

It was fascinating to see how much work and effort goes into providing the U.S. Navy the necessary ships and subs to protect America.

On Saturday morning, the team checked out of the hotel and began our pregame routine. The weather was hot and humid but we came ready to play. Like any other football game we had our ups and downs, but the Mules came out on top with a 27-7 victory. We packed the bus returned to Allentown just before midnight.

The weekend was an overall great experience, a good time for team bonding, and a strong win to open up the 2012 season.