Category Archives: field hockey

Weekend Preview

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Is it October already? Indeed it is, and the Mules teams begin the second half of their 2011 seasons on a weekend filled with home events.

Volleyball vs. Dickinson (Saturday, 11:00)

The Mules dig playing at home. In their last four matches at Memorial Hall, they defeated Albright and McDaniel and were very competitive with strong Moravian and Haverford teams. Now they’ll try to even their Centennial Conference record against 2-10 Dickinson.

The Mules also dig pediatric cancer research. Muhlenberg volleyball and the Centennial Conference are working together this year to raise money for Tanner’s Touch, a non-profit organization out of Westminster, Md., that raises awareness and funds to support pediatric cancer research. The Mules (who also play Mount St. Mary at 3:00) will collect pledges and donations for every dig they record in the match against Dickinson.

Live stats (Dickinson match only): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/vblive/topview.htm

Live video (Dickinson match only): http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Field Hockey vs. Dickinson (Friday, 7:00)

Muhlenberg will try to make it two wins in a row and capture its first Centennial Conference win of the season. Dickinson is also 0-3 in the CC.

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

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

Cross Country at Paul Short Run (Friday, 12:15 men and 1:00 women)

The Mules compete in one of the largest meets in the nation as they continue to prepare for the Centennial championship meet.

Results page: http://www.paulshortxcrun.com/PaulShort/PSLayer.php

Football vs. Susquehanna (Saturday, 1:00)

Susquehanna (3-1) makes its first trip to Allentown since 1992 having won its three games by a combined six points, all on the final play of the game. The loss was at Johns Hopkins, 56-7. The 2-2 Mules, looking to bounce back from a 27-17 loss at Hopkins last week, will try to take advantage of a Crusader defense that has allowed 450.0 yards and 39.8 points per game.

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

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

Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html

Women’s Soccer vs. Dickinson (Saturday, 4:00)

Dickinson won the CC regular-season title and advanced to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament last year but is just 1-2 in the CC to start this season. Muhlenberg (1-1-1) is looking to bounce back from an 0-2 weekend in Maryland.

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

Muhlenberg (5-2, 1-2) is happy to be home after tough road trips to Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore, both of which resulted in one-goal losses. Haverford is 0-3 in the CC, with all three losses by a single goal, and also lost just 1-0 to top-ranked Messiah.

Weekend Preview, Part 2

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Yesterday, The MuhlBox looked at Friday’s contests at Johns Hopkins. Here’s a preview of the Saturday and Sunday events.

Football at Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 2:00)

Two of the three teams that tied for the Centennial Conference title, and two of the three teams that are off to 2-0 starts this year, square off in a key game in Baltimore.

Johns Hopkins is ranked 23rd in Division III and has outscored its three opponents 142-21. Muhlenberg, which received votes in the American Football Coaches Association poll, is coming off a dramatic comeback win against McDaniel in which it scored 27 points in the fourth quarter to win, 34-26.

Muhlenberg leads the series 23-19-1 and has won three of the last four meetings, including two at Homewood Field. Seven of the last eight meetings were decided by eight points or fewer.

Turnovers could play a big role in this game. The Mules are plus-9 in turnovers this year and picked off JHU quarterback Hewitt Tomlin four times in both 2008 and 2010.

Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html

Live video: http://www.hopkinssports.com/allaccess/?media=256668

Live stats: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/jhop-m-footbl-sched.html and click on Gametracker

Cross Country at Dickinson Long-Short Invitational (Saturday, 11:00)

Dickinson will host the Centennial Conference Championships on a new course at Big Spring High School, and almost all the CC schools will be here to preview it. This meet will give the Mules a good indication of where they stand in the CC six weeks before the actual championship meet.

Results: http://www.motiontiming.com/node/65

Women’s Soccer at Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 7:00); at Stevenson (Sunday, 2:00)

Coming off a tie against 24th-ranked Haverford, the Mules take on another nationally ranked opponent: No. 7 Johns Hopkins, the six-time defending Centennial Conference champion. Each of the last two years, the Mules beat the Blue Jays when they were ranked in the top 10, and in 2008 Muhlenberg took No. 7 Johns Hopkins to double overtime.

Live video: http://www.hopkinssports.com/allaccess/?media=256693

Live stats: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/w-soccer/sched/jhop-w-soccer-sched.html and click on Gametracker

The Mules continue their weekend trip to Maryland with a game against a strong Stevenson squad on Sunday.

Live stats: http://livestats.prestosports.com/stevenson/wsoc/?e=5cuvkr0g155v7ppa

Volleyball at Johns Hopkins (Saturday, 1:00)

The Mules look to go to 2-0 in the CC for the first time since 2002. They won in five sets in their last trip to Johns Hopkins (2009).

Weekend Preview, Part 1

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It’s such a big weekend, we’re going to do the preview in two parts. Today, we’ll look at the Friday games, and tomorrow we’ll preview Saturday’s contests.

Men’s Soccer at Johns Hopkins (Friday, 7:00)

Two of the powerhouse programs in the Centennial Conference meet in what is always an important match. In the first 18 years of the CC’s existence, Hopkins had the best record (128-23-11), and Muhlenberg was second (116-34-12). The two schools combined for 13 of the CC’s first 18 championships. Both teams won their CC opener, Hopkins (3-2-2 overall) at Haverford and Muhlenberg (5-0) vs. McDaniel.

In the D3soccer.com poll, Muhlenberg is ranked ninth and Johns Hopkins is receiving votes. The NSCAA has the Blue Jays ranked 10th in the Mid-Atlantic Region, while the Mules are third in the region and 19th nationally.

Johns Hopkins holds a 14-9-4 series lead, but that only tells part of the story. Muhlenberg has never beaten Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field; in fact, the Mules haven’t scored a goal in their last four trips there. Four of the last six meetings in Baltimore ended in scoreless draws.

Muhlenberg is 5-0 for the first time since 2005, and that was also the last year the Mules defeated Johns Hopkins.

Live video: http://www.hopkinssports.com/allaccess/?media=256690

Live stats: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-soccer/sched/jhop-m-soccer-sched.html and click on Gametracker

Field Hockey at Johns Hopkins (Friday, 4:00)

Johns Hopkins is ranked 20th in Division III with a 4-2 record, and Muhlenberg is 1-5. But don’t let those numbers fool you – this is usually an intense, closely fought game. The Mules defeated the Blue Jays in overtime in 2008 and 2009 – both times when Hopkins was ranked in the top 10 in Division III. Last year, Muhlenberg played one of its best games against Johns Hopkins, losing 2-1 in the fourth straight one-goal games between the two teams.

Live stats: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/w-fieldh/sched/jhop-w-fieldh-sched.html and click on Gametracker

Past Meets Present

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Homecoming is a time for all generations of the Muhlenberg family to come together, and that certainly was the case last Friday.

While on campus for her 50th Reunion, Louise (Niebaum) Bogan met with current members of the Mule field hockey team on Friday morning, showed them a slide show, and then attended their game on Friday night.

Louise Niebaum was a member of the 1959 and 1960 field hockey teams – the first two at Muhlenberg. The 1959 team won all four of its games without giving up a goal. The next year, Muhlenberg again went undefeated, with a record of 5-0-1. 

The program did not lose a game until its fifth season of existence and helped establish the winning tradition of Muhlenberg field hockey. In 52 seasons of play entering this season, the Mules had a winning percentage of .605.

Click the link below to view the slideshow. Of particular note in the old pictures are the hairstyles (of course), the uniforms, the sticks and the cars around the field (Muhlenberg played its first games on what is now the site of Trexler Library). Things have changed quite a bit in the last 50 years!

Field Hockey slide show

Homecoming Weekend Preview

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It doesn’t get much better than this – Homecoming weekend, fall in the air, and lots of great matchups at Muhlenberg.

Football vs. McDaniel (Saturday, 2:00)

The actual game may not be as marquee as the matchup between Green Terror back Joe Rollins and the Mule defense. Rollins rushed for 311 yards against Moravian last week, and Muhlenberg has allowed only 1.9 yards per carry through two games. This is the only Centennial Conference game this week between two teams that won their league openers.

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

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

Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html

Volleyball vs. McDaniel (Friday, 7:00)

McDaniel is 0-7 this year, Muhlenberg is 2-8, and it doesn’t matter: At the end of this match, one of them will be in first place in the CC with a 1-0 record.

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

Field Hockey vs. McDaniel (Friday, 7:00)

Fresh off their first win of the season, the Mules try to make it two in a row against 3-0 McDaniel.

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

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

The closest thing the Mules have to a home meet will be run at nearby Cedar Crest College. The regionally ranked women take off at 10, followed by the men’s race at 11.

Men’s Soccer vs. McDaniel (Saturday, 4:00)

Undefeated Muhlenberg, 4-0 for the first time since 2005, is ranked 12th in Division III by D3soccer.com. McDaniel is 1-2-1 and has not beaten the Mules since 2001.

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

Live video (second half only): http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Women’s Soccer vs. McDaniel (Saturday, 7:00)

Muhlenberg (3-2) opens CC play against a team to which it has not lost since 2003.

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

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

NCAA stats

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There’s a new way to keep close tabs on not just the Muhlenberg teams, but all Division III teams in football, soccer and field hockey.

Starting this week, box scores for all Division III contests in those sports will be available on the NCAA website. The NCAA has been doing this with Division I football for several years and started with Division III last year. Soccer and field hockey were added this year, with volleyball to come in the future.

Here are the links:

Football: http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/mainpage.jsp?year=2011

Men’s soccer: http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/rankings?sportCode=MSO

Women’s soccer: http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/rankings?sportCode=WSO

Field hockey: http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/rankings?sportCode=WFH

The football page is set up a little differently, but for the other three, click on “Click here for box scores and complete team and individual statistics.” Although it is listed on the Division I line, you can get to all three divisions from there. Select III from the drop-down menu where I appears, and you get a list of all schools that play the sport. Click on any school, and you can see their links to cumulative stats and game boxes. Click on a player name in the roster to see season and career stats.

If you want to check up on upcoming opponents, this is an alternative to going to their school websites. And if nothing else, it’s a great way to kill some time poring over stats.

The NCAA continues to provide weekly rankings in these sports, as well as volleyball (http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/rankings?sportCode=WVB). Although it is way too early to put any stock in national statistical rankings, it is interesting to note that the Muhlenberg football team is 28th in Division III in rushing defense after two games, and Joe Rollins of McDaniel, who will be visiting Scotty Wood Stadium on Saturday, is the second-leading rusher in the division.

Weekend Preview

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A look at what’s coming up this weekend in the world of Mule sports:

Football at Franklin & Marshall (Saturday, 1:00)

It’s the Centennial Conference opener for both schools, and both are coming off season-opening losses last week. F&M is the only team to defeat Muhlenberg each of the last two years, holding the Mules to a single touchdown both times.

Live stats and video: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/fandm.portal#

Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html

Men’s Soccer at Moravian (Saturday, 2:30 at Liberty High School)

The 2011-12 Matte Award competition kicks off as two former Muhlenberg teammates (Mule head coach Sean Topping and Moravian head coach Todd Ervin) go against each other. The 17th-ranked Mules have won their last six matches against the Greyhounds.

Volleyball vs. Messiah (Friday, 3:00); vs. Kean (Friday, 7:00); vs. St. Mary’s (Saturday, 10:00); vs. Albright (Saturday, 2:00)

It’s the 14th annual Buttermaker Tournament and the first official event in newly repainted Memorial Hall.

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

Women’s Soccer at Gwynedd-Mercy (Friday, 7:00); vs. Delaware Valley (Saturday, 7:00)

The 1-1 Mules play back-to-back for the second weekend in a row. Saturday’s game is the home opener for Muhlenberg.

Live video (Gwynedd-Mercy game): http://www.gmcgriffins.com/sports/2011/9/1/GEN_0901110219.aspx

Live video (Delaware Valley game): http://www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

Live stats (Delaware Valley game): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/wsoclive/xlive.htm

Field Hockey at Montclair State (Saturday, 6:00)

After their Moravian game was rained out twice, the Mules head to North Jersey in search of their first win of the season.

Live stats: http://www.montclair.edu/Athletics/livestats/fhockey/xlive.htm

 

Opening Weekend

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It’s Friday, Friday, and everybody’s looking forward to the weekend, weekend – and looking forward to another year of Muhlenberg athletics! Seven Mule teams open up this weekend, and here’s a preview:

There’s no better way to start a season than with a game between two NCAA Tournament teams, and there are two of them on tap this weekend.

Football at Delaware Valley (Saturday, 1:00)

Both teams earned their conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, and both lost to national semifinalists (Muhlenberg to Wesley, Delaware Valley to Mt. Union). Both teams return veteran, stingy defenses, but while the Mules bring back a good chunk of their offense, the Aggies graduated nine offensive starters, including seven all-conference players. Delaware Valley won last year’s game, 27-7.

Live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/delval/football/

Live audio (WMUH): http://www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh/stream.html

Men’s Soccer vs. DeSales (Saturday, 6:00)

The two Lehigh Valley school have developed a nice rivalry over the years – it doesn’t hurt that both teams are usually very good. DeSales lost to Swarthmore in the first round of the NCAAs last year, and Muhlenberg made it to the “Sweet 16.” The Mules, who also host Cortland State on Friday at 6:00, lead the all-time series 15-2-2 and have won the last four meetings.

Live stats (both games): www.muhlenberg.edu/sports/msoclive/xlive.htm

Live video (both games): www.livestream.com/muhlenberg

In other action this weekend:

Field Hockey at Scranton (Friday, 5:00) and Elizabethtown (Saturday, 2:00)

For the first time since 2000, the Mules open a season with back-to-back road games. Scranton was 7-12 last year, and Elizabethtown was 14-5. 

Scranton game live stats: http://athletics.scranton.edu/livestats/landing

E-town game live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/etown/fhockey/

Women’s Soccer at Kean Classic (vs. Richard Stockton, Saturday, 2:00; vs. Kean, Sunday, 1:00)

The Mules take on a couple of teams from the New Jersey Athletic Conference to start their season. In 2010, Richard Stockton was 13-8-2, and Kean went 9-6-4, including a 3-2 win against the Mules.

Live stats (both games): http://sidearmstats.com/kean/wsoc/

Live video (Kean game only):  http://www.keanathletics.com/general_news/012309live

Volleyball at Marietta’s River City Classic (vs. Oberlin, Friday, 5:00; vs. Kenyon, Friday, 8:00; vs. Marietta, Saturday, 11:30; vs. Methodist, Saturday, 1:00)

The volleyball team travels to Ohio for a season-opening tournament.

Tournament updates: http://pioneers.marietta.edu/sports/2010/8/3/WVB_11RiverCityTournament.aspx?path=wvball

Live stats (match vs. Marietta only): http://www.sidearmstats.com/marietta/wvball/

Cross Country at Lehigh Invitational

All but one of the Mules’ seven meets this year are in the Lehigh Valley, and this is the first.

Field Hockey Preview

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Senior Courtney DeAngelis writes about the outlook for the 2011 Mule field hockey team:

First, I want to welcome all the freshmen who are reading this to the ‘Berg!  And to the upperclassmen, I hope you’re all as happy to be back as I am. I’m pleased to report that the Muhlenberg field hockey team was seemingly unfazed by the earthquake, hurricane and the power outage across campus, and still managed to soldier through preseason.  But, aside from those calamities, things have been running smoothly for us so far.   

Now to be perfectly frank, for those of you who followed us last season, you already know it was a rough one. There are fewer things that are more frustrating than to not perform at your level of play, and this was a recurring issue for us. Nonetheless, I am completely confident that our team will bounce back from last year and experience success. We do NOT want a repeat of last season, and we’re determined to ensure that this does not happen. 

Jaclyn Todisco celebrates after a Mule goal in last week's scrimmage against FDU-Florham.

We’re not going to dwell on the past, or linger on what should have, could have, or would have been; what happened, happened, and all of the upperclassmen just want to move forward. As a senior, I’m especially grateful to have another shot to prove to the conference what we’re really capable of, and we’re hoping to really shock everyone this season.

Another big change this season is our size – with the addition of thirteen freshmen, we’re up to 32 girls! I’ll be perfectly honest and admit that I was initially a bit nervous about having such a large class, and how it would change our team dynamic. They were like a small army coming in the first day, and my biggest concern was how I’d ever remember all of their names. 

Fortunately, spending ten (give or take a few) hours a day together for a week straight provided plenty of opportunities to get to know everyone, and with the help of some good old fashioned name games and team bonding activities, everyone seems to be clicking really well.

So all in all, we’re ready to move on and surprise the conference.  We know we’re competing against some of the top DIII programs in the nation, but we’re ready for the challenge and we’re eager for our first game this upcoming Friday. 

Hope to see you all there at some home games this year!