Box Score Photo Gallery
Even though Phil Rahling has played in only nine games in his college career, Moravian has already had its "Phil" of him.
The sophomore scored two goals in the first 17 minutes, and the Muhlenberg men's soccer team went on to defeat the Greyhounds, 3-0.
The win gave Muhlenberg an early 1-0 lead in the 2014-15 Matte Award standings, and it came on a day when the Mules got some attention for their strong start to the season. The Mules moved up from sixth to fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Region and received four votes in the NSCAA Division III poll.
Rahling scored his first career goal – the only one of his freshman season – against Moravian last year, a late score that capped a 4-0 win. Then he was a reserve, but now he's a starter and one of the most potent offensive threats on a Muhlenberg team that is 3-0 for the first time since 2011 and has scored nine goals in those three games.
The Mules attacked early and often against their Lehigh Valley rivals, with only some close-range saves by the Moravian goalie keeping them from doing more damage on the scoreboard. A little more than three minutes into the game, a hard shot by senior Lance Dotzman was saved, but Rahling collected the rebound and put it into the net for his second goal of the season.
Travis Wantchekon just missed a goal in the 13th minute, blasting a shot off the post, but the senior – who entered the game without a career assist – made up for it by assisting on the final two goals of the game. With exactly 28 minutes left in the first half, he set up Rahling with a cross in the box.
Sophomore Nick Sarkos completed the scoring in the 69th minute by taking Wantchekon's long pass from the sideline and one-timing the ball past the goalie for his first goal of the season.
Rahlingfi (at right, celebrating his rst goal) and Sarkos were two of the three sophomores to play prominent roles. The other was Chris Skutnik, who made his first career start on his 20th birthday and was part of a defense that recorded its second consecutive shutout.
The Mules had a 19-3 advantage in shots in defeating the Greyhounds for the 10th straight year.