For Mounds View’s Jenny Mullin, the prospect of winning Tuesday’s Class 2A, Section 5 championship game at Centennial means more than ever.

“I feel like this year, maybe because I’m a senior or maybe because what we’ve been through, it would be great to win and go to state,” she said.

Mullin has been through a great deal. She lost her mother, Claudia Turner, to uterine cancer. Originally given a year or two to live, Turner battled her disease for 3 ½ years before passing away on Sept. 22. She was 57 years old.

Mullin, who missed a few games after her mother’s death, returned to find a subtle tribute from teammates – peach laces in their soccer shoes.

As pink is the color of breast cancer awareness, peach is the color for uterine cancer.

“We talked as a team about what we could do for Jenny and her mother that was respectful and meaningful,” Mustangs coach Sharon Swallen said.

No one told Mullin about the tribute. She noticed the laces upon her return to practice.

“I was very touched with the way they remembered her,” Mullin said. “She is with us at practice and in games.”

Mullin also honors her mother by praying to her during the National Anthem. Turner only saw one game this season but her family is certain she made her presence felt in another.

In her first game back from bereavement, Mullin scored the first goal in a 3-1 victory against Cretin-Derham Hall.

“My dad told me he thinks my mom pushed the defender out of the way,” Mullin said.

Teammates Julia Kruger and Katie Hultberg grew up with Mullin and said the tribute is appropriate in other ways. They remember the color Turner brought to their lives with her sense of humor.

“She was a very funny person and I think that’s where Jenny gets her sense of humor,” Hultberg said.

Swallen said the whole situation reinforced life lessons to the young women on her team. Each and every Mustangs player attended a gathering for Turner on Oct. 4. Swallen said Park of Cottage Grove graciously agreed to move the game – the Wolfpack’s senior night – scheduled for that Tuesday to Monday.

“Jenny said that we didn’t have to do that,” Swallen said. “But I told her, we want to do that.”

Supporting Mullin has also bridged the age gap on Mounds View’s roster. The Mustangs have five seniors and a combined eight freshmen and sophomores.

“This has allowed us to be there for each other as teammates but also as friends,” Kruger said. “It’s for sure shown us there is more to life than wins and losses.”

That said, Hultberg hopes the team can keep its season going into the state playoffs.

“There’s more to life than a game,” Hultberg said. “But I think Claudia would have liked to see us keep going."