Perry and Mueller end careers on high note

After the start of their career was filled with question marks, Anna Mueller and Ava Perry had a dream ending to their careers at Saxony Lutheran High School.

As the duo was set to begin their freshman season with the Crusaders soccer program, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 spring sports season.

“It was kind of weird for Ava and I because we were going into the next year like freshmen,” Mueller said. “We had the same amount of time as sophomores as the freshman who were coming in did. We had a rough sophomore year because we were all so young.”

Perry said she still remembers the feeling of finding out she wouldn’t have a freshman season.

“It was really disappointing,” Perry said. “We had a few good weeks of practice and the team was looking really good.”

If you fast forward to 2023, the success the Crusaders saw this season was largely because of Mueller and Perry.

The Crusaders finished the season with a record of 13-9 and a third-place finish in the Class 1 State Championships.

“We went out there every day and we put in the work,” Mueller said. “We knew what we were capable of and where we could go with this season. Our girls really set their minds to it and I’m just really proud of how we came together.”

Crusaders coach Chris Crawford had high praise for the senior duo.

“It’s incredible,” Crawford said. “You get your freshman year taken away and then as the two seniors you lead your team to a final four. They’re going to be very proud of themselves and they should be.”

As the Crusaders traveled to Fenton last weekend to compete in the final four, they had championship aspirations. Those aspirations were crushed by Villa Duchesne as they fell 4-0, but they knew going into the third-place game they still had a job to do.

“We were going to give it our all,” Perry said. “It’s our last game so we wanted to give it everything we got.”

Mueller said heading into the third-place game against Bishop LeBlond, they made sure to soak it in because it was their final game together.

“We knew we only had 80 minutes together,” Mueller said. “I just told the girls to go out there, play loose and have fun. It was just awesome.”

The Crusaders' season ended as they knocked off the Bishop LeBlond Eagles 2-1 to claim the third-place plaque in the Class 1 State Championships.