CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Battery announced on Friday the club had re-signed defender Taylor Mueller and midfielder Dante Marini  for the 2017 USL season. The signings are pending league and federation approval. 

Both Marini and Mueller were integral in the Battery’s run to the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs, with Mueller recording three goals and two assists in 27 starts a year ago.

The 28-year-old center back will enter his sixth season for the Battery, the only professional club the former University of Washington standout has competed for in his career. In 2016 Mueller earned the Battery’s Derek Revord Defensive Player of the Year award, and sits on 114 appearances for the club, seventh in the Battery’s history and one fewer than Charleston Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser. 

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Marini had his most successful season for the Battery in 2016 as he led the club with 31 appearances, including two playoff games. Marini was a key piece of a Battery attack that scored 38 regular-season goals and consistently caused opposing defenses problems.

The Battery will open their preseason on February 11th when they play host to the College of Charleston, and then will kick off the 2017 Carolina Challenge Cup a week later when they face MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC at MUSC Health Stadium.