Sophomore Dawn Iberer got behind the defense on this play en route to the lone goal of the game. Photo courtesy of billjohnsonphotos.com.

The Mules (18-2), who won their second straight title, earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which begins on Wednesday at on-campus sites to be announced on Monday.

With 3:54 remaining in the first half, Iberer took a long clearing pass from junior Katy Hawkins, slid between two Blue Jay defenders and beat the goalie. The score stood up despite intense pressure from Johns Hopkins (12-4-3) the rest of the game.

Less than a minute after Iberer’s goal, the Blue Jays hit the crossbar. Early in the second half, the Mules survived a flurry of five shots in a short span. Muhlenberg junior Kim Laurino made a diving save on a shot but couldn’t control the ball, then had to dive again to deflect a rebound shot off the post. The ball rebounded out in front, but another follow-up shot went wide.

After the Mules failed to clear the ball, Laurino again made a pair of back-to-back saves on close-range shots.

“This was a carbon copy of our first game against Johns Hopkins,”

The Muhlenberg captains — juniors Katy Hawkins and Kim Laurino and senior Jennie Vroman — raise the championship trophy. Photo courtesy of billjohnsonphotos.com.

noted Laurino. In that Sept. 22 game, Muhlenberg scored an early goal, then spent most of the remaining minutes defending. “We rose to the occasion. There were a few scary moments but thankfully we prevailed.”

Laurino finished with nine saves in the game to set school records for most shutouts in a season (nine) and career (21). The Blue Jays outshot the Mules by a 26-13 margin, including 16-5 in the second half.

Muhlenberg, which advanced to the final with a 2-0 win against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday, will enter the NCAA Tournament with a 16-game winning streak. Last year, when the CC champion was determined without a postseason tournament, the Mules advanced to the second round of the NCAAs.

“These were two important games that will help gear us up for the tournament,” said Laurino. “This year, we really had to fight for it.”

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