soccer, field hockey ousted by hopkins

The Muhlenberg men’s soccer and field hockey teams both took a 1-0 lead on Johns Hopkins in their respective Centennial Conference semifinal playoff games, but the Blue Jays came back to win both, 2-1.

In men’s

Lauren Rutt was one of four Mule field hockey seniors whose career ended with the loss to Hopkins.

soccer, the Mules (12-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead when sophomore Eric Miller blasted the ball in from 20 yards out for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. Junior Brendan Carroll assisted on the goal, which came just 5:03 into the match.

Muhlenberg dominated the early going, holding a 5-0 advantage in shots 25 minutes into the game. Hopkins (16-3) headed in a corner kick with just 1:43 left in the half to tie the game. It was the first goal allowed by the Mules to a CC opponent in nearly 550 minutes, since the first Hopkins game on September 29.

The Blue Jays scored the go-ahead goal with 9:41 left in regulation. Muhlenberg had a corner kick in the final three minutes, but could not get a shot off.

The Mules, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped, still have a chance to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. CC regular-season champion Franklin & Marshall will almost certainly receive a bid after falling to Gettysburg in the other semifinal, and the NCAA could decide to take three teams from the CC, which had six of the top eight teams in the latest regional rankings. NCAA bids will be announced on Monday.
Click here for box score.

The field hockey team saw its season end on the Ursinus turf one game short of the CC championship match for the second year in a row. Muhlenberg (12-7) earned a penalty corner with no time left in the first half and turned it into a goal, with sophomore Kristen Sabia finishing.

Johns Hopkins (14-4), ranked eighth in Division III, tied the game early in the second half, then scored the game-winning goal on a penalty stroke with 10:32 left when a Mule player was called for hooking a stick in the circle.

The Blue Jays advanced to the championship game against Ursinus, which avenged its lone CC regular-season loss with a 9-0 shutout of Franklin & Marshall.
Click here for box score.