It's safe to say that Juniata's first season in the Mountain League was a successful one as far as boys soccer is concerned.
When the Nittany Division unveiled its 2010 all-star team, the Indians led all squads with eight team members being honored - including senior Kyle Winey, who was named the most valuable player.
"Kyle is a tremendous player," Juniata coach Clint Brackbill said. "He's going to continue his play on to a higher level. He was a four-year varsity player and continued to get better every year. He was our main focus offensively and at times he actually came to accept (being marked) and learned to play off of it. That made him an ever better player and in turn made us better as a team."
Four other Juniata players - forwards Dylan Fulkroad and Ross Cook, midfielder Colt Brackbill and defender Clint Imes - garnered first-team honors.
"Dylan is a hard worker and has a lot of passion for the game," Brackbill said. "He's played four years at the varsity level to an extent and he's grown into a very solid player. And Ross is player that sees the game very well. Because of that, we moved him from defense to offense this year and he turned into a very dynamic player and gave us some versatility that was very beneficial to us.
"The way we played, we put a lot of pressure on the midfield to control the pace. Colt stepped up to that challenge and he's an extremely hard worker. I think he's really evolved into that position over the last three years and at times he's almost too unselfish. And Imes - he's just a beast in the back. He stepped up into the defensive position and took command in the back."
Other defenders Andrew Reid, Eric Haubert and Jared Fulkroad were named to the second-team.
"Nobody knew anything of Andrew Reid before this year," Brackbill said. "We had a hole and Andrew stepped into it. He's a blast to coach and it's just amazing what he did back there in one year. (Eric) is another one of those players that evolved into his position. He's really taken charge and I think he really likes what that position allows him to do.
"And Jared is a similar player to Eric. He's just a workhorse and he's just continuing to get better in every game that he plays. By the end of the season, I thought he was playing extremely well and he gives us some versatility on the outside with his speed."
Six members of the Lewistown Panthers were honored - three on the first team and three on the second. Alex Leight, Ethan James and James Wilburne led the way with first-team recognition.
"Alex was just our motor all year long and played the forward position for us," Panther coach Keith Yoder said. "He came up with a lot of goals for us and did a good job putting pressure of the other team's defense. (Ethan) played midfield for us and was really good at holding the ball for us and distributing the ball. When he wants to be, he can be one of the top players on the field at any time.
"Wilburne definitely came up big for us this year. He just made any set piece that we had dangerous. He had the ability to put the ball where he wanted and we're excited that he's only a sophomore."
Second teamers included Ian McGinnis, Nate Miller and Mitch Welham.
"Same thing with Ian - he's only a sophomore and he came up with some big goals for us," Yoder said. "Once he found a home on the outside of the midfield, he came through and did a real good job. Nate Miller was one of our senior captains this year and did a good job in the midfield to win and control possession. He started scoring some goals too, which was an added bonus.
"(Mitch) had what I would refer to as an unbelievable year. We really couldn't have had the type of season we had without him. When our starting keeper got hurt, we stuck him back there and he kept us in a lot of games."
Indian Valley had three players that garnered all-star recognition to round out the local contingent.
Issac Peglow was part of the first team, while Curtis Treaster and Andrew Parzanese came in on the second.
"Issac Peglow is basically the heart and soul of the team," Warriors coach Kyle Cramer said. "He came in from day one as a leader and really our play went right through him. We looked to him to control the game. Curtis really came on here his last two years. This year he was one of the most underrated defensive players around. He's very smart back there and knew exactly where to put himself.
"Andy had sort of been my offensive specialist and he always did a real good job. He's a real solid player and knows the game very well."
