The Muhlenberg men's soccer team scored three second-half goals to defeat Kean, 3-0, and win the ECAC championship.
The ECAC title is the fourth in program history. The previous three (most recent in 1988) were regional championships requiring only two wins. The Mules (13-6-2) needed four wins to capture the title this time, outscoring their four opponents by a 14-1 margin.
Muhlenberg ended the season on a five-game streak to finish with 13 wins, its most since 2014.
Senior
Raymond Leto was named tournament MVP after notching shutouts in both the semifinal win against Widener and the final. In four tournament games, Leto made 17 saves without allowing a goal in 322 minutes.
Seniors
Matthew Athanas-Linden,
Zach Cimring and
Kevin Hagan, sophomore
Mark Walter and freshman
Brandin Osborne also were named to the all-tournament team.
The Mules took over the final in the second half after being outshot 12-4 in a scoreless first half by a Kean (12-8-3) squad that had eliminated Stevenson, the tournament host and top seed, in the semis.
In the 62nd minute, Hagan sent a pass down the middle of the field to Cimring, who found his way in between to Cougar defenders in a run out of the back. Cimring one-timed a shot with his left foot inside the left post for his fifth career goal.
Just 39 seconds later, it was Hagan setting up another goal, this time playing a ball from the right sideline across the field to Athanas-Linden, who settled and fired inside the far post for his second goal in as many games.
It was the fastest the Mules scored two goals since 2010, when they netted a pair in a span of just 15 seconds.
The icing on the cake came with 11:04 to play, when freshman
Brandin Osborne capped his rookie season by scoring his first career goal. Freshman
Taylan Akdag sent a square ball to junior
Mark Winter in the middle of the field. Winter tapped it to Osborne, who finished inside the left post.
Leto took care of the rest, making four saves in the remaining time to polish off the championship.
Muhlenberg finished the season with 51 goals scored, reaching the half-century mark for the first time since 2010 and just the third time in the last 20 years. The Mules also ended the season undefeated (11-0-1) against non-conference opponents.
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