Box Score COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's soccer team hung on admirably in a Centennial Conference contest largely controlled by visiting Muhlenberg, but an unfortunate bounce handed the Mules a goal in the waning minutes of the first half and they made it stand up in a 1-0 decision.
Muhlenberg (5-5-2, 1-3-1) outshot the Bears by a 14-0 count in the first period, but senior Brandon Lillian held them at bay with an array of dazzling saves. The veteran net minder was quick off his line to prevent would-be opportunities, and several times kept the ball out of the net with quick-reflex stops.
Despite Lillian's heroics, the Mules capitalized on a stroke of good fortune to find the breakthrough. Following a corner kick, Cameron Miller blasted a low shot toward the Bears' net. The ball bounced around through a mess of tangled feet before bounding toward the right post, where it just crossed over the goal-line before an Ursinus defender's last-ditch attempt to clear.
The Bears (0-10-3, 0-6) were a different team in the second half, turning the tables on Muhlenberg and getting on the front foot. Sophomore Jacob Helwig's screamer from outside the box zipped wide of the right post in the 53rd minute, and sophomore Braden Burns found himself in on goal after latching on to a perfect long through ball from senior Derek Rudy in the 75th minute, but his first touch was a tad heavy and made for a difficult angle on a shot that went wide.
Senior Justin Molyneaux's free kick whizzed just over the bar in the 79th minute, and senior Ben Amaral missed high in the 87th.
Lillian finished with six saves, all of them coming in the first half. Ursinus held a 4-2 edge in shots in the second period, while Muhlenberg owned the corners battle, 8-1.
The men's soccer team stays home to play Haverford on Wednesday, October 17.
