Haverford and Muhlenberg each earned road victories in the first round of the Centennial Conference men's soccer tournament on Tuesday night to advance to Friday's semifinals. The Mules advance to the semifinals for the fifth year in a row while the Fords return to the semifinals for the first time since 2018.
In Collegeville, Pa., fifth-seeded Haverford spoiled fourth-seeded Ursinus' first-ever CC playoff appearance with a 2-1 win at Patterson Field, marking Haverford's first CC tournament victory since 2018. Charles Sharp opened the scoring for the Fords in the 17th minute. The Fords held that lead for much of the game until Ryan O'Neill knocked in a loose ball near the goal line for the Bears in the 72nd to tie things up. Haverford's Jonathan D'Amour then delivered the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute.
The victory marked Haverford's first postseason win of head coach Kevin Brenner's tenure. The Fords, making their second consecutive conference tournament appearance, extended their unbeaten streak to six games with the road triumph. The Fords will travel to second-seeded Dickinson for Friday's semifinals at 7 p.m.
In Swarthmore, Pa., Muhlenberg's Sim Dorsey registered a hat trick - all assisted by Lorenzo Vargas-Clarke - to lead the sixth-seeded Mules to a 4-2 win over third-seeded Swarthmore at Clothier Field Stadium.
Dorsey scored the Mules' first three goals, all off long throws from Vargas-Clarke, his high school teammate. The hat trick was only the second in CC playoff history and the first for the Mules since 2023. It also was only the second hat trick in a Muhlenberg men's soccer postseason history that includes 94 games. The only other one was scored by Tim Averell in a 1995 NCAA quarterfinal win vs. Ithaca. Vargas-Clarke became the first Mule with three assists in a game since 2019 and is believed to be the first ever to record three assists in a postseason game.
The Mules will travel to top-seeded Johns Hopkins for a semifinal match on Friday night at 7 p.m.. Muhlenberg handed Johns Hopkins its lone CC loss of the season.
FIRST ROUND: Tuesday, Nov. 3 | at #3 & #4 seeds
#6 Muhlenberg d. #3 Swarthmore, 4-2 | Box Score
#5 Haverford d. #4 Ursinus, 2-1 | Box Score
SEMIFINALS: Friday, Nov. 6 | at #1 & #2 seeds
#5 Haverford at #2 Dickinson, 7 p.m. | TICKETS
#6 Muhlenberg at #1 Johns Hopkins, 7 p.m. | TICKETS
CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, Nov. 8 | at highest remaining seed
Semifinal winners, location & time TBD
