The magic number was one. Nine of the 16 Muhlenberg women’s soccer

Two of Amari’s three career goals were game-winners, including one in the 2003 CC championship game.

games were decided by one goal, and generally it was a late goal. Much to the chagrin of the team, most of those decisions favored the opposition as the Mules finished the season 4-10-2, including 3-6-1 in the Centennial Conference.

Muhlenberg opened the season on the same day Head Coach Leslie Benintend gave birth, and it cruised to a 5-1 victory over Cabrini, the team’s highest single-game goal total since 2002. The Mules then dropped a pair of 1-0 losses at the Kean Invitational, with the winning goal coming in overtime against Gwynedd-Mercy and late in the game versus Kean.

Muhlenberg played close with four of the five Centennial Conference playoff teams, with the opposition coming up with the game-winning goal in the last 20 minutes of regulation or in overtime each time, including each of the last three home contests for Muhlenberg.

The Mules fell to eventual CC champion Johns Hopkins, 1-0, in one of seven matchups on the season against regionally ranked opponents. Muhlenberg overcame two one-goal second-half deficits, but not the third, in a 3-2 loss to Gettysburg. Against Dickinson, junior midfielder Andrea Dello Russo, who had a team-high four goals, scored one of only 10 goals allowed by the Red Devils on the season in a 2-1 loss. In the season finale, Ursinus scored the lone goal of the game in the second overtime.

Schmidt was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II College Division women’s soccer first team.

Two of the Mules’ three conference victories came on the road with a 3-1 victory against Bryn Mawr and a 1-0 shutout of Washington (Md.). Muhlenberg also shut out Swarthmore, 1-0, at home and tied McDaniel, 2-2, on the road.

Muhlenberg played close with the best of the conference and played great defense, but struggled offensively. The Mules’ defense, led by senior Katie Amari, sophomore Maura Hendsey and freshman Heather Scudellari, allowed just 23 goals in 16 games and held 10 of 16 teams to one goal or less.

Amari joined classmate Amy Schmidt on the All-Centennial Conference team. Schmidt, a midfielder, received second-team honors and finished her career with nine goals and six assists, while Amari received honorable mention and accumulated three goals and six assists over her four years with Muhlenberg. During their careers, the Mules went 27-11-2 in regular-season CC matchups, the third-best record in the conference during that stretch.