Allentown, Pa. – Junior MARIAH ALSTON (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) of the Muhlenberg College field hockey team was named to the All-Centennial Conference second team after an outstanding 2012 campaign.  

Alston’s great 1-v-1 skills and strong hit allowed her to return to the Mules this season as the starting center midfielder. On offense, she scored one goal this season: the first of her career, and the lone, game-winning goal in a key Centennial Conference matchup vs. Swarthmore. She also tied for second on the team with three assists.

On defense, Alston recorded one defensive save and helped the Mules rank second in the CC in goals-against average (1.36) despite facing a league-high 13.3 penalty corners per game.

Muhlenberg ended with a 9-7 record in 2012, a four-win improvement from the previous season and more wins than in the previous two seasons combined. The Mules defeated Montclair State, the eventual national runner-up early in the year, allowing them to receive votes in the national poll for the first time in nine years. The Mules, in a conference of multiple ranked programs, did not allow any team to defeat them by more than a two-goal margin.