Muhlenberg Men’s lacrosse team concluded the 2018 season with an 11-7 overall record, and a less than stellar, 2-6 record within the highly competitive Centennial Conference. This year, the Mules look to improve upon their conference record, looking to utilize their young talent in combination with their upperclassman experience.
Thus far, the Mules have started out hot, going 7-1 in their first eight non conference matchups. As of last week, they began their long awaited Centennial Conference schedule. Their first game took place on the road at Haverford. The Mules came away with the 13-9 victory, a nice start to the stretch of CC games. Notably, James Dalimonte ‘22 led the charge, finishing the game with the team high in goals with five.
The Mules followed up the game by hosting the seventh ranked team in the country in Gettysburg. Unfortunately, the outcome of the game was not as the team had hoped. The Mules were handed a tough 11-10 loss to the nationally ranked rival, making them 1-1 in conference thus far. In the heartbreaking loss, Ethan Grossman ‘21 notched four goals, while James Dalimonte tacked on another three goals.
After the game, Joey Goret ‘21 and Stephen Chenworth ‘19 reflected upon the team’s recent performances and improvements that could be made to achieve better results.
Chenworth looked back at the issues faced against Gettysburg and compared them to those faced in conference play last year. “Last year we had a lot of injuries that hurt us in conference play, and thus far we are 1-1 with a single goal loss against the seventh ranked team in the entire country. I wouldn’t say that we have similar issues that we had last year. Every year our conference has multiple teams ranked in the top twenty and sometimes the top ten of Division III lacrosse. In order to win those big in-conference games, we have to play with a certain level of toughness, resilience, and heart. I think we’ve proven as a team that we can compete with anyone on any given day, and it really comes down to us showing up, executing the game plan that our coaches gave us, and as players, taking advantage and capitalizing on opportunities that are presented throughout each game.”
In addition to Chenworth, Goret stated, “In order to be more successful in conference we have to start games better, not allowing our opponents to rack up early goals where we find ourselves fighting a deficit the rest of the game.”
When looking back at the issues on the field against Gettysburg, Chenworth made it clear, “Gettysburg is a top ranked, super-talented team in D-II lacrosse. We came out with confidence and a good game plan to beat them, but came up one goal short. We needed to make just a couple more plays throughout the game.”
Goret was overall in agreement with Chenworth. “Gettysburg was an overall tremendous team effort and nearly a complete game on all sides of the ball. However, lapses in the first quarter and in the beginning of the second half held us back from gaining the lead and pulling away. Against a team as talented as Gettysburg there is little margin for error, and the difference in that game was missing a few critical plays that could have drastically changed the outcome.”
It is quite clear that the Muhlenberg Men’s lacrosse team is on the rise. Over the past few years the team has been rebuilt, and hoping to join its rivals as a powerhouse in the Centennial Conference and the nation as a whole. The season is far from over and the Mules are ready to take on their next opponent.
Chenworth, Goret, and the rest of the Mules remain in Allentown to take on Washington College on Friday, April 7.
