COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Muhlenberg senior kicker Casey Fosbenner nailed a 41-yard field goal with 2.6 seconds remaining handing Ursinus (2-7, 1-7 Centennial) a 10-9 heartbreaking loss on Saturday at Patterson Field.
The Bears had kept Muhlenberg off of the board after allowing the game's lone touchdown in the first quarter and had forced a turnover with just 4:04 left in the game.
However, the Mules (6-3, 6-2 Centennial) drove 45 yards in 12 plays to kick the game winner. The fourth straight field goal in the contest.
Ursinus got all nine points off the leg of senior kicker Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) who converted on kicks of 25, 34 and 40 yards. The last one gave the Bears the lead at 9-7 with 9:25 left to go in the contest.
Ursinus got 101 yards passing on a 14-for-28 performance from sophomore quarterback James Emmett (Pittston, Pa./Pittston) while junior wide receiver Matthew Raymond (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) caught five passes for 55 yards.
The defensive unit sacked Muhlenberg junior quarterback Nick Palladino five times on the day, and held the Muhlenberg offense to just under 300 yards.
Senior defensive back Kyle Adkins (Holland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had a monster day as he recorded two sacks, three tackles for losses of 23 yards, and had the interception with 4:04 at the Ursinus 19 stalling a Muhlenberg drive.
Junior defensive back Prince Patterson (Trenton, N.J./Notre Dame) and senior defensive lineman William Ghaul (Media, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) each had a game-high eight stops for the Bears.
For Muhlenberg, Palladino threw for 173 yards on 21-for-36 passing, with senior wideout Nick Lamb catching seven passes for 89 yards.
Muhlenberg scored the lone touchdown of the game on its second drive, going 57 yards in six plays in 2:51 with Palladino rushing nine yards off the right side for the score and a 7-0 lead.
Ursinus got on the board at the end of the second half, going 48 yards in ten plays with Boyer kicking a 25-yard field goal at the gun for a 7-3 Muhlenberg halftime lead.
The Bears cut the lead to 7-6 when Boyer kicked a 34-yard field goal with 2:08 left in the half. The drive, which went 58 yards, was aided by two Muhlenberg personal fouls that gave the Bears 30 yards.
Boyer's final kick, the 40 yarder with 9:25 left in the game, ended a seven-play, 26-yard drive in 2:20. The Bears had got the ball at the Muhlenberg 49, after pinning Muhlenberg at their own 13-yard line.
Muhlenberg took the ball and drove all the way down to the Ursinus 19, before Adkins intercepted the ball with 4:04 left.
On Muhlenberg's final scoring drive, the Mules converted a fourth-and-10 at their own 31 yards line when Palladino threw a 15-yard pass to junior wide out Ryan Delaney. Palladino, who became Muhlenberg's all-time leading passer in the game, overcame a 2nd-and-22 on the Ursinus' 49 yard line when the Bears were called for holding.
With 30 seconds left, and sitting on the Ursinus 39 yard line, Palladino completed a 10-yard pass to sophomore running back Max Cepeda to get the Mules in field goal range.
On fourth-and-5 from the Ursinus 24, Fosbenner then completed the kick to win the game.
Ursinus will finish the 2015 season on Saturday at Dickinson.