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MIFFLINTOWN - After 40 minutes of soccer at Dietrick Field on Monday, Juniata and Belleville Mennonite remained locked in a scoreless battle. Although both teams had a number of scoring chances, netminders Corey Ritter and Nathan Metzler stood tall to keep each ball out of the net.

Both teams were in need of a strong second half if they wanted a chance to break the tie. It was only Juniata that was able to find the back of the net on its way to a 2-0 non-league victory.

"The first half we came out sluggish, but I thought overall we played well," Juniata coach Clint Brackbill said. "We played the way we needed to play in the second half. We knocked the ball around, we played feet, we got it wide - everything you talk about in practice that you want to do, we did."

Juniata drew the first break of the game when one of its players was tripped up in the Bryan Doyle, to step up and go one-on-one against Metzler on a penalty kick.

Thinking that the goaltender would dive to one side or the other, Doyle fired directly toward the center of the goal. Metzler though, stood his ground in the middle of the net to make a crucial save. Unfortunately for the Trojans, he was unable to control the rebound - and it went straight back to Doyle.

He wasn't about to miss twice.

Doyle sent the second shot to the right side of the net, denting the twine and giving Juniata the 1-0 advantage - a lead that the Indians wouldn't give up.

"The guys played real well in the first have and I was pleased," Belleville Mennonite coach Brian Yoder said. "I thought the defense played a good game overall. We kept them outside for the most part until they got into that PK there, which was unfortunate."

After the two teams played an even first half, Juniata came out firing in the second half and Doyle's goal only gave the Indians more confidence. In fact, for a majority of the second half, the home team didn't even allow the Trojans to cross the midfield stripe.

Belleville Mennonite had a prime chance to test a cold goalkeeper when Juniata was forced to insert backup Aaron Miller into the action after Ritter drew a yellow card. But Juniata buckled down on defense and didn't allow the Trojans to fire another shot.

Juniata put the game away as the minutes on the scoreboard were winding down. Wesley Walters, who was positioned beyond the penalty area on the right sideline, came up with a perfectly placed blast that found the upper left-hand corner of the goal. The shot was just out of the reach of Metzler and the Indians found themselves with a two-goal lead with just over seven minutes to play.

"We didn't respond very well after the PK," Yoder said. "We didn't have any pressure in our attacking third in the second half. It's a tough loss, but I still thought the guys played well."

The story of the game as far as Juniata was concerned could have been two diving saves by Ritter in the middle of the first half. Trojan forwards Mattias Servos and Evan Watson both thought they had cashed in before Ritter came out of nowhere to keep Belleville Mennonite off the scoreboard. The Trojans were never able to recover from their missed opportunities.

"It was unfortunate that it took a PK to get things rolling," Brackbill said. "But Belleville Mennonite came out strong and we came out a little sluggish. The guys stepped up and they played hard - even though I wish it didn't take them until halftime to realize that."