Muhlenberg field hockey season in review

After a three-goal deficit, the dream to be Centennial Conference Champions was out of reach. The 14th ranked Muhlenberg field hockey team lost their first playoff game to the 7th ranked Franklin & Marshall Diplomats on a gutting 1-4 loss and are disqualified from the playoffs.

The Mules returned to Collegeville for the game against the Diplomats, where a week earlier, Muhlenberg fell to Ursinus in their last regular season game 0-2. Not to mention, the last time the team played Franklin & Marshall, they only won 1-0 with an early goal in the first ten minutes of the game. So, the result of the playoff match would rely on which team came out the most ready to play.

Franklin & Marshall took the early lead near the end of the first half with a goal from Emily Nagle on a fast break in the 25th minute of the game. The Mules had a scoring drought in the first half, only getting off one shot on goal as compared to the Diplomats’ eleven. The Diplomats put great pressure on the Muhlenberg defense by earning six penalty corners and forcing goalie Emma Rosenthal ’18 to make six saves in the half. Muhlenberg went into halftime down 0-1 and needed to find a way to create more offensive opportunities while strengthening their defensive line.

Unfortunately, within the first two minutes of the second half, Nagle scored another Franklin & Marshall goal inside the left post to put her team up 0-2. The early goal certainly did not help gain momentum for the Mules, but they were not going down without a fight. Muhlenberg started to put attacking pressure on the opposing defense and goalie by getting four shots off before finally getting an offensive break. Mules’ midfielder Emily Boyle ’17 received the opportunity for a penalty stroke in the 56th minute. Boyle lined up for the shot and it ended up in the back of the cage to finally put Muhlenberg on the board, it was her ninth goal this season.

The goal was just what the Mules needed to get back into the game, but the Diplomats came back to increase their lead with another point in the 64th minute. Sydney Cole scored the third goal for the Diplomats on yet another breakaway to beat the defense down the right side of the field to score. Franklin & Marshall increased their lead by two, and as time was winding down, it became more desperate for the Mules to make something happen.

Three minutes later, the Diplomats sealed the win with their fourth goal from Erin Coverdale, who tapped the ball past the goalie. With less than four minutes to play, championship hopes were lost, when at the 70th minute, the final whistle blew with Muhlenberg 1, Franklin & Marshall 4, on the scoreboard.

So with the loss, the Diplomats moved on to the Centennial Conference Championship game against the dominant Ursinus squad. Ursinus won last year’s championship match, as well as eleven of the last championships and the tournament’s top seed ten times since the year 2000. Franklin & Marshall has only won one championship in 2012 and has been the tournament’s top seed four times since the year 2000. The Diplomats fell to Ursinus in overtime, with the final score Franklin & Marshall 1, Ursinus 2. Muhlenberg has neither won a championship nor been the tournament’s top seed from the years 2000 to 2015, but this season has definitely changed those prospects.

The team has actually received an Eastern College Athletic Conference, ECAC, bid as the secon seed in Region One. The tournament consists of eight teams in the region and played third seed Albright yesterday. If the team does well in the ECAC, it is possible they may receive a NCAA bid as well.

Despite the loss against Franklin & Marshall, the team has had an exceptional season, going 15-3 overall and 9-1 in the conference.

The Mules started their season out in a dominating performance with eleven straight wins before their first loss against Montclair State. Throughout those eleven games, midfielder Rachel Strow ’17 scored 16 goals, at least one in each eleven games, and broke multiple records in the process.

After the loss to Montclair State, the team went on a small four-game winning streak in commanding fashion with four shutouts. They outscored their opponents 18-0 in those four games alone. Not to mention the 9-0 blowout against Moravian in an extremely easy win for the Mules. The game against Moravian also broke the school record for the most wins ever, 15 to be exact, since the existence of the team.

The last two games ended in losses for the team, but they still broke the Muhlenberg record for most goals ever scored in a season with 55 total. Muhlenberg outscored their opponents 55-18 throughout the regular and playoff seasons combined. The team also recorded nine shutouts out of the total 18 games they played, meaning their opponents didn’t even score in half the games played against the Mules this season.

Three seniors had a remarkable season this year. Rachel Strow scored a total of 20 goals and earned 47 points, breaking the school record of 44 for most points in a season in the game against Moravian. Emily Boyle scored nine goals and earned 27 points, and Taylor Smith scored eleven goals and earned 26 points this season. In total, these three seniors scored 40 of the 55 goals for the team, which is absolutely astounding. Strow, Boyle, and Smith have had a terrific year and have helped push the team toward excellence in its race to the playoffs.

The Mules may not have reached their ultimate goal to become Centennial Conference Champions, but they should be extremely proud of what they achieved throughout this historic season and hopefully receive an NCAA bid for a chance for a national title.