The Muhlenberg men's lacrosse team achieved an elusive goal, defeating Franklin & Marshall, 11-10, for its first Centennial Conference playoff win ever.

The Mules (10-8), who reached double digits in victories for the sixth time in program history, advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded Gettysburg on Friday night.

Muhlenberg had lost by one goal in the CC playoffs each of the last three seasons, including an overtime loss to F&M in 2023 in its only previous home CC playoff game. Fittingly, the Mules broke through by winning a one-goal game, although it was a contest that wasn't close until the very end.

The Mules trailed 4-2 at the end of the first quarter before holding the Diplomats (11-6) without a goal for a span of 36 minutes. Sophomore Jack Bill scored all five of his goals in a 9-0 run that gave Muhlenberg a seemingly commanding 11-4 edge with under nine minutes to play.

F&M, which is receiving votes in the Division III national poll, came storming back, however, netting the next six goals to cut the gap to one. The final one came with 15 seconds left, and although the Mules won the ensuing faceoff, F&M forced a turnover to get the ball back with the final seconds ticking away.

The clock hit zero without the Diplomats getting a shot off, but the referees awarded F&M a timeout with one second left. A desperation play went nowhere, and Muhlenberg finally could celebrate its historic win.

Bill's five goals gave him 76 for his career, tying the school record for goals in a player's first two seasons. 

Sophomore Chase Kusko and senior Brendan Lavarra also made their marks on the record book, with Kusko tying the school record for points in a season (73) and Lavarra becoming the program's all-time leader in caused turnovers (66).

Sophomore Liam Ledwith scored three goals for his third straight hat trick, while senior Tyler Kitchen and sophomore Daniel Friedel each finished with a goal and three assists.

Junior Max Kunnath made 12 saves, including seven - all of which proved to be necessary - in the fourth quarter.

In addition to the individual records, the Mules set a team record for goals scored in a season (214).

pictured above: Freshman Ryan Schmitz picked up four ground balls.