After a strong performance against Washington College in their last game, the Muhlenberg men’s lacrosse team followed up that effort with another dominant win against McDaniel College this past Saturday evening at Scotty Wood Stadium. During a commanding 17-6 victory, the Mules saw contributions from the entire roster. Jack Bill ‘27 led the team with six goals and eight total points in a performance that came only one point short of tying the school record for most points in a game. Wyatt Malia ‘24 also had a strong game with two goals and a career-high four assists as he finished the game with seven shots on goal.
While the team’s offense came through in a big way, the Mules also played well defensively throughout all four quarters. Muhlenberg held the Green Terror to a total of six goals, limiting McDaniel to no more than two goals per quarter. Muhlenberg’s strong defensive play prevented McDaniel from scoring an even-strength goal in their set offense for the majority of the game. A strong performance in faceoffs and ground balls also contributed towards Muhlenberg’s victory. Muhlenberg held the edge in these two categories winning 23 of 27 faceoffs and 37 of 55 ground balls. With the victory, the Mules moved to 2-2 in the Centennial Conference and 5-7 on the season.
As a result of the team’s strong performance, there were a lot of positive takeaways that came from the team’s play. After the game, Head Coach Jake Plunket commented on the play of the team by saying, “I was very pleased with the performance on Saturday night at home. It was great to see such a dominant performance at the defensive end, at the face-off dot, and on the offensive end as well. With fifteen of the seventeen goals being assisted, I couldn’t have been more happy with how we moved the ball efficiently and looked to make the unselfish pass for better opportunities.”
He also discussed the future of the team in their matchups this season. “The great thing about lacrosse in the Centennial Conference is that all teams are extremely competitive and many teams are nationally ranked in the top twenty of Division III. Every conference game has a huge impact on the Centennial Conference Playoffs and playing for a championship. With our next two games against Ursinus and Gettysburg, we are excited about the challenge and looking forward to competing in some big games on a national stage.”
The team is looking to build upon their recent success and continue to climb up the standings. With almost all of the remainder of their games against teams in the Centennial Conference, the Mules understand the importance of the games ahead. Chase Kusko ‘27 went on to explain the team’s mindset looking ahead to the remainder of the season. “Every single team that we have to play is going to be a very competitive matchup for us. We just have to take things one game at a time and control what we can control.” Kusko elaborated, “We’re just gonna continue working on fundamentals and the little things that we can control. We’ll also work on team concepts specific to the team we are playing next.”
The Mules continue their season with a road game against Gettysburg on Apr. 13 as they look to earn a winning record within the Centennial Conference. Coming off their recent strong play, the men’s lacrosse team returns home on Apr. 17 to play the first of three home games to finish the season.
