Muhlenberg faces nationally ranked opponents in football and men’s soccer on the last weekend in September.
Men’s Soccer vs. Franklin & Marshall (Saturday, 7:00)
This is not what the doctor ordered for the Mules (4-4, 0-1), who have lost three in a row and scored only one goal in their last 280 minutes. Franklin & Marshall (7-0-1, 1-0) is ranked in the top 15 in both Division III polls and is one of only two teams in NCAA men’s soccer that is unscored upon this season. (The other is Division II Lander.)
The Diplomats lead the all-time series, 30-27-5, but the Mules have the upper hand since the start of Centennial Conference play, 13-7-2, including two postseason wins. F&M’s last win in Allentown came in 2005.
Live stats: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/msoclive/xlive.htm
Live video: http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg
Field Hockey at Dickinson (Saturday, 11:00)
The Mules (2-5, 1-1) are playing the fourth of five consecutive road games and will try to reverse the outcome of the first three, all of which they lost 2-1. Dickinson (5-2, 2-0) has already matched its Centennial Conference win total from a year ago, including a 1-0 defeat of 2012 CC finalist Haverford. Muhlenberg won last year’s game, 4-0, to extend its series lead to 18-12-1.
Football at Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 2:00)
These two teams have dominated the Centennial Conference since 2000, with Johns Hopkins going 70-24 (.745) and winning or sharing eight titles and Muhlenberg compiling a record of 66-28 (.702) with seven titles. No other CC team has a higher winning percentage than .553 during that span.
Hopkins (3-0, 2-0), ranked 13th by the AFCA and 16th by D3football.com, has won 23 of its last 24 CC games and is averaging 537.7 yards per game while allowing just 236.3. The only negative stat for the Blue Jays is their minus-4 turnover margin. The Mules are a CC-best plus-7.
Muhlenberg leads the all-time series, 23-21-1, but Johns Hopkins has won the last two meetings.
Live stats: http://www.hopkinssports.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mfootbl.html?event=1258893
Live video: http://www.hopkinssports.com/allaccess/?media=398643
Volleyball at Dickinson (Saturday, 2:00)
The Mules (7-5, 1-1), coming off Wednesday’s sweep of Scranton, will try to avenge a disappointing five-set loss to the Red Devils last year. Muhlenberg leads the all-time series, 18-14, but has not won in Carlisle since 2001. Dickinson (5-8, 0-2) was swept by Haverford and Swarthmore in its first two Centennial Conference matches of the season.
Women’s Soccer at Dickinson (Saturday, 2:00)
One of Muhlenberg’s biggest victories last year en route to the playoffs was a 1-0 win in Carlisle. Dickinson had defeated the Mules five straight times, once in the 2009 CC semifinals. This year, Muhlenberg (3-4-1, 1-1) will try to snap a two-game losing skid against a Red Devil (4-3-2, 0-0-2) squad that has been shut out in its last three games.
Men’s Tennis at ITA Southeast Regional (Saturday-Sunday)
Muhlenberg travels to Mary Washington for a weekend tournament.
Tournament site: http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=143809