First Round (at Baltimore): #5 Gettysburg tied #4 Johns Hopkins, 1-1 (OT); Bullets advance on PKs 5-4
Semifinal (at Westminster): #5 Gettysburg d. #1 McDaniel, 1-0 (2OT)
Semifinal (at Westminster): #3 Muhlenberg d. #2 Swarthmore, 3-0
Final (at Westminster): #3 Muhlenberg d. #5 Gettysburg, 2-0

First-half goals by seniors Christopher King and Jose Ramirez were all the Muhlenberg men’s soccer team needed to defeat Gettysburg, 2-0, in the Centennial Conference championship game.

The Mules (13-5) won their fifth CC title – tying Johns Hopkins for the most in league history – and their second in three years. Muhlenberg earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will most likely begin play on Wednesday. Pairings will be announced on Monday morning.

As they did in the semifinal win against Swarthmore, the Mules got on the board early. In the 14th minute, King scored on a ground shot from just outside the penalty box following a failed Bullet clearing attempt. King has scored a goal in four straight games and leads the CC with 12 on the season.

Less than 10 minutes later, Ramirez took a feed from senior James Henshaw and rifled a shot from the top of the box under the crossbar. Like King, Ramirez scored a goal in both playoff wins, while Henshaw had a goal and two assists in the two-day tournament.

The defense did the rest, allowing Gettysburg (8-6-5) only one shot on goal.

It was fitting that seniors scored all five goals for Muhlenberg in the CC playoffs. The Mules are dominated by an eight-member senior class that will go out as conference champions.

“We knew we had to step it up and that it was our time to shine,” said Ramirez. “If we didn’t, we knew it could have been our last time playing together.”

The shutout of Gettysburg – avenging Muhlenberg’s last loss – capped a circuitous route to the championship. The Mules appeared to headed for the title when they won their first five games, including a 4-2 victory against defending champion Johns Hopkins in their CC opener, and climbed to No. 13 in the national rankings. But they struggled through the middle of the season, dropping two games to teams that did not make the CC playoffs.

“From the beginning, we said we’d win the championship no matter what it took,” commented Ramirez. “When you have a long journey, you’re always going to have some obstacles. But we accomplished what we set out to do.”