Men's Soccer to Host Championship Game
The Muhlenberg men's soccer team earned a spot in the Centennial Conference championship game with a 2-1 win at eighth-ranked Franklin & Marshall.
Not only did the Mules (13-3-2) advance to the final, but they will host it. In a replay of 2022, the top two seeds both lost in the semifinals, so third-seeded Muhlenberg will host fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins, a 2-0 winner at top-seeded Washington College, on Sunday at 1:00 for the championship and the CC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The semifinal game was tied 1-1 late in the second half when Muhlenberg won a corner kick - one of just two in the game for both teams. Senior Taylan Akdag served the ball into the box, where junior Evan Schlotterbeck headed it in for his first career goal.
The Diplomats (13-3-2) took only one shot the rest of the game, and it went wide.
Akdag opened the scoring in the 59th minute by taking a pass from sophomore Sebastian Tis and firing it past the F&M goalie and inside the far post. The three points gave Akdag 72 for his career, including 20 in 14 career postseason games.
Franklin & Marshall tied the game off a free kick with 17:21 remaining on a third attempt after sophomore Ben Mulford saved the first two shots but the Mules could not clear the ball.
Mulford finished with seven saves to improve his career postseason record to 4-1-2.
Muhlenberg held its second straight postseason opponent without a corner kick and handed the Diplomats their first home loss of the season - the second straight year the Mules have done that in the CC semis.
This will be the third meeting between Muhlenberg and Johns Hopkins in the CC championship game. The Mules won 2-1 at home in 2003, and the teams played to a scoreless draw in last year's final in Baltimore, with the Mules claiming the title on penalty kicks. The last three meetings between the two teams have all ended in ties, 2-2 and 0-0 last year and 1-1 earlier this season.
No CC team has repeated as CC champion since Haverford went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016,
pictured above: senior Greyson King
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