Three days after scoring only one goal on 27 shots in a win at Washington College, the Muhlenberg women's soccer team did a much better job finding the mark, scoring on three of its first eight shots in a 3-0 home win against Haverford.

"We've been getting opportunities all year, and it had to click at some point," explained senior Colleen Touhey. "We've been saying that a win is a win because we've won a lot of 1-0 games, but it's really nice to know that we can score."

It picked the right night to click. Haverford has been one of the top programs in the Centennial Conference in recent years, having made the playoffs in the last seven seasons and reaching the championship game in the last two. The Mules (8-3-2, 4-2) entered the final three weeks of the regular season in position to earn their third straight playoff berth but with some tough opponents ahead of them.

Muhlenberg came out on fire and controlled play from the beginning; the only two shots the Fords (5-5-2, 1-4) managed in the first half were long attempts on free kicks.

The Mules broke on top in the 14th minute when junior Taylor Pini, whose speed wreaked havoc the entire game, sent in a cross from the corner to classmate Megan Nehila in the box. Nehila played the ball off to her left to Touhey, who banged it into the net for her third goal of the season.

Muhlenberg didn't stop there. Less than eight minutes later, sophomore Rachel Manci smartly played a free kick to freshman Carly DeNigris for a one-on-one with a defender outside the box. DeNigris (left) beat the defender and sent in a cross to sophomore Kaitlin Cassidy, who was fouled in the box. She buried the penalty kick to make it 2-0.

"To see our team come out harder after the first goal and keep the momentum was great," said Touhey. "It's something we've been working on."

The Mules scored off another free kick a few minutes later when DeNigris' long blast from the left side of the field found the net inside the far post.

The three first-half goals were the most for the Mules in two years and their most in a CC game since 2010.

Although Muhlenberg did not extend its lead in the second half, it held off the Fords with the help of two big saves by junior Jen Mermelstein, one on a breakaway early in the half and the other on a penalty kick with under four minutes to play. The latter stop put the exclamation point on the Mules' first win against Haverford since 2010.

"We knew this was a must-win for us," said Touhey. "We want to make the conference playoffs and this was a step in the right direction."