Picked eighth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll despite returning a talented group of veterans, the Muhlenberg field hockey team

Polt, a first-team All-CC seelction, finished her career tied for ninth on the Mules’ all-time scoring list with 59 career points.

showed its stuff by finishing fourth. In fact, it took the national champions to bring the Mules’ season to a close.

Muhlenberg ended its season with a 12-7 record and earned its first CC playoff berth since 2000. As the fourth seed in the playoffs, the Mules hosted fifth-seeded Gettysburg and knocked off the Bullets, 1-0, for their first postseason win since 1992.

In the conference semifinals, Muhlenberg had its season ended by Ursinus, which would go on to capture not only the CC playoffs, but also the Division III national championship.

The Mules started and finished strong, winning four of their first five and four of their last five. The middle was a seesaw ride, as the team alternated wins and losses for 11 straight games.

Location had much to do with that: Muhlenberg averaged 4.2 goals in going 4-1 at home in the CC, but scored just one goal in its first three CC road games. Needing road victories in the final week of the season to get in the playoffs, the Mules came through, winning at Franklin & Marshall for the first time ever and coming home from Washington with a 3-1 triumph in the last regular-season game.

Muhlenberg’s offense, which scored 44 goals (the team’s most since

Moyer also contributed to the offense with a goal and five assists.

1989), featured a multi-pronged attack. Junior Jillian Duffy (12 goals, four assists) and senior LisaAnn Polt (11 goals, four assists) became the first Mule teammates to each score 20 points in 17 years. Nicole Notarianni scored eight goals, the most by a Muhlenberg freshman since 1991, and senior Jessica Hand added seven goals, including the lone tally in the playoff win against Gettysburg.

The defense ranked second in the CC, allowing only 1.52 goals per game. Senior Kate Moyer ended the season with 10 defensive saves, including four in the win at Washington. Junior Nikki Rhoads and the tandem of senior Allie Covell and sophomore Julie deLaurentis rounded out the defensive unit in front of four-year starter Lauren Schram, who ended her career with 19 shutouts.

Junior All-CC selection Lauren Rutt was a big factor on both offense and defense, winning balls in the midfield and disrupting many penalty corners.