ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Sept. 1, 2015)- Senior goalkeeper Jesse Goleman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Taylor Allderdice) made seven saves as the Centenary College men's soccer team dropped their non-conference season opener to the Mules of Muhlenberg University, 2-0, on Tuesday evening.
Anthony Carracino and Nick Sarkos scored for the Mules who improve to 1-0, while sophomore Justin White (Minehill, N.J./ Dover) and freshman Jared Miele (Flanders, N.J./Flanders) both recorded a shot on goal for the Cyclones who fall to 0-1.
Centenary played even with Mulhenberg in the first half, as the Mules outshot the Cyclones 9-7, but the Cyclones did earn three corner kicks. Despite that, Mulhenberg did find the back of the net first, scoring off a double assisted header in the 12^th minute.
The Mules attempted to increase their lead, but Goleman denied Nick Sarkos on a penalty kick at the 16:57 mark.  Centenary almost evened the game before the half, as sophomore Daniel Lamanna (Roxbury, N.J. / Roxbury) had his shot attempt blocked with time expiring.
In the second half, Muhlenberg aggressively attacked the Cyclone defense, but Centenary answered by knocking a header off the goal line and Goleman make back-to-back saves. The Mules would dash the hopes of a Cyclones comeback, as they scored in the 86^th minute to preserve their victory.
Centenary edged Mulhenberg in saves (8-2) and corner kicks (4-1), but the Mules dominated on shots (19-7) and shots on goal (10-2).
Head Coach Keith O'Connor and the Cyclones will return to action this weekend in the Frostburg State Tournament. Centenary will face the host Bobcats of Frostburg State on Saturday, Sept. 5^th and the Eagles of Juniata College on Sunday, Sept. 6^th.