LEWISTOWN - It's never easy to go up against number one. The Mifflin County girls soccer team knows this - the Huskies have faced defending state champion and current leader of the Commonwealth Division, Cumberland Valley, twice this season.
A small victory in its own rights, the Huskies lost 7-0 when they took on Cumberland Valley Thursday, but that's an improvement over the 10-0 loss they took the first time they faced the Eagles earlier this season.
Mifflin County coach Steven DeArment thought his girls put forth a more difficult challenge for the Eagles than they were able to muster in the teams' first encounter.
Article Photos
Sentinel photo by BRADLEY?KREITZER
Mifflin County’s Maggie Wilson (20) races to the ball with Cumberland Valley’s Kaytlin Kane (4) Thursday in Lewistown.
"The first time we played (Cumberland Valley), the score was 10-1 and they scored at will ... today was 7-0, and (Cumberland Valley) played the whole way through," DeArment said.
DeArment highlighted the fact that Cumberland Valley didn't score until the eleventh minute of the first half, whereas last time the Eagles scored much earlier in the match. DeArment also noted that Cumberland Valley kept its starters in the game much longer than in the previous matchup.
"They were still working with a lot of their top girls the whole way through," DeArment said.
Two of Cumberland Valley's offensive threats were Jenn Falconer and Jess Pink, both of whom scored two goals for the Eagles.
Mifflin County, on the other hand, didn't have much to show offensively. The Huskies had only one shot and no corner kicks the entire game.
But regardless, DeArment was still proud of his girls' performance
"We did a much better job. It's really a tough thing when you run against the best team in the state, but our girls didn't have anything to be ashamed of. They played hard."
Mifflin County(1-9) hosts Commonwealth Division opponent Red Land on Saturday.
Girls soccer
Juniata 2, West Perry 0
ELLIOTTSBURG - It was a rainy night, and the Indians were playing on unfamiliar turf, but none of that seemed to matter when the Juniata girls soccer team shut out West Perry 2-0 Thursday night.
Playing on a turf field, the Indians at first had trouble reacting to the faster ball speed, but they soon overcame this minor difficulty after Micheh Horning took a pass from Janelle Swartz to notch Juniata's first goal at 17:58 in the first half.
"The first half we had several really great chances to score. It got a little worrisome there because we really had some great opportunities, but we couldn't find the back of the net. So it was really a relief when Micheh was able to find the back of the net," Juniata coach Brian Strawser said.
The JV team lost to West Perry 4-3.
Juniata (6-4, 4-1) travels to Tri-Valley League opponent Upper Dauphin on Tuesday.
Midd-West 3, Shikellamy 2
SUNBURY - Allie Camp scored twice - including the game winner with just 22 ticks left on the clock - and had an assist as Midd-West slid by Shikellamy, 3-2, in Heartland Conference girls soccer Thursday.
Mustangs coach Russ Goodling said it seemed his team wasn't in the game early, and when the Braves scored the first goal just five minutes in, he didn't write it off as a fluke.
"There was quite a concern tonight," he said. "I knew how things were going to go before they even got off the bus - it was just a mental thing."
And, he said, the Braves were challenging the ball hard.
So was Camp - she delivered the helper to Morgan Shirk for the first tying goal barely two minutes into the second, scored the second equalizer late in the half after Shikellamy answered, then buried the last one to win it.
"Allie works hard from the start to the finish," Goodling said. "She was pretty determined tonight that she was going to get some goals to help the team."
Midd-West (7-3, 3-3) hosts Williamsport Tuesday.
Boys soccer
Cumberland Valley 7, Mifflin County 0
MECHANICSBURG - Mifflin County was able to slow Cumberland Valley, but eventually saw the Eagles take control of their Commonwealth Division boys soccer game, which the home team won 7-0.
"They're ranked in the top 10 in the state and for good reason," said Mifflin County coach Jared Byler, whose team was down 3-0 at the break. "The first half of the game we played very well. Even though it was 3-0 it was a back and forth game."
The Husky defense, led by Tucker Bachman and Ben Kauffman, played well against a solid front from Cumberland Valley, and Derek Heimbach was good in goal, Byler said. His offense, in the meantime, built attacks and had decent chances. But in the end, the Huskies just didn't have enough to stop the Eagles' front.
"They bring a lot of guys," Byler said. "When they bring an attack forward, they're bringing six, seven guys every time.
Cumberland Valley won the JV game, 10-0.
Mifflin County (1-10) travels to Red Land Saturday.
East Juniata 8, Halifax 1
COCOLAUMS - The East Juniata boys soccer team is on a roll in the Tri-Valley League, and that showed in the Tigers' 8-1 win over Halifax on Thursday.
Currently undefeated in the TVL, the Tigers dominated against the Wildcats, outshooting Halifax 20-4 and outdoing Halifax 9-1 in corner kicks.
However, despite the fact that East Juniata controlled nearly the whole game, Halifax was the first to strike off a Thomas Morgan goal at 30:35 in the first half.
"We kind of started out slow, and we kind of gave up a silly goal there to begin with. We weren't pressuring the ball real well at the start of the game," East Juniata coach Don Troutman said.
But when East Juniata's Spencer Reinford broke it open for this team with a goal at the 20:55 mark of the first half, the rest of the game was history. East Juniata scored seven unanswered goals after that point for a final score of 8-1.
East Juniata (9-1, 8-0) travels to Greenwood on Saturday.
Belleville Mennonite 1, Philipsburg-Osceola 1
PHILIPSBURG - The Belleville Mennonite boys soccer team finished the second half of its game against Philipsburg-Osceola looking for a win, but after two 10 minute overtime periods and no change in the score, the Trojans had to settle for a tie.
After a Jarrett Rockey goal in the second half, Philipsburg-Osceola led the Trojans 1-0, but Belleville Mennonite's Andrew Miller wasn't ready to let his team go down without a fight.
After being taken down by Philipsburg-Osceola's goalie on an attempted shot, Miller scored on the ensuing penalty kick. From there the game went into overtime, but neither team was able to score for the win.
Belleville Mennonite coach Brian Renno was proud of the way his defense kept the Trojans team in the game.
"I credit my defense, the back line - Steven Yoder, Josh Pollock, Alex Suydam, and Kyle Derstein - they did a good job of maintaining a defensive shape to maintain the score at 1-1," Renno said.
Belleville Mennonite (6-2-1) hosts Northumberland Christian on Monday.
Golf
State College 429, Mifflin County 440
STATE COLLEGE - For the final match of the season, a head-to-head event at State College, Kevin O'Donnell let his senior class take over.
Even with normal No. 1 and underclassman Hunter Wright not scoring, the Huskies had a reasonable outing against the Little Lions despite coming out 11 strokes short at Centre Hills Thursday, with the last three holes being played in light rain.
"They had an edge playing on the course," O'Donnell, the Mifflin County coach, said. "Overall I was pleased with how we played."
State High's Ty Gates was the medalist with an 81, three strokes ahead of Mifflin County leader Evan Pupo. Pupo played his final regular-season round as a Husky with his former Lewistown partner, Jason Perry, something O'Donnell said was enjoyable to see.
The Huskies head to Sinking Spring Tuesday for the Class AAA Eastern Sectional tournament.
Field hockey
Line Mountain 5, Juniata 0
MIFFLINTOWN - It was a rough afternoon for the Juniata field hockey team, as the Indians took a 5-0 Tri-Valley League loss to Line Mountain Thursday.
The Indians couldn't put anything together on offense, and failed to get any shots or penalty corners the entire game. But despite the tough loss, Juniata coach Becky Loy was pleased with what she saw from her goalie, Katie Searer.
"She did really well in the cage. She helped us a lot. She held us together," Loy said.
Juniata (4-6, 0-5) travels to Mifflin County on Monday.
Greenwood 3, East Juniata 1
COCOLAMUS - After winning four in a row leading up to her team's match against Tri-Valley League opponent Greenwood, East Juniata field hockey coach Billie Haines said she hoped her team's momentum would carry through into a win. But Greenwood, which is currently undefeated in the TVL, would have none of that.
Going into the second half, things were looking up for the Tigers. The score was tied 1-1, and at that point it was anyone's game. But less than four minutes into the second half Greenwood's Taylor Tompkins scored an unassisted goal, and from there it was all Greenwood in the scoring department.
"(East Juniata) always play pretty good defense against us, and right now we're just not getting a lot out of our corner game. We're just having trouble getting shots," Greenwood coach Kent Houser said.
"This game was different from our first meeting with Greenwood in that we played offense," Haines said. "Since we first played Greenwood we've switched some girls around and it proved successful tonight."
But even if the Wildcats weren't getting the number of shots they're used to, they ramped up the intensity in the second half, and that resulted in the win.
"I thought we did a better job just period of moving and being a little more aggressive to the ball," Houser said of his team's second half performance.
"I felt like everyone played with great intensity. We just didn't finish on enough of our opportunities," Haines said.
Greenwood (9-1-1, 5-0) travels to Hershey on Monday. East Juniata (4-4, 3-3) travels to Huntingdon Saturday.
Mifflinburg 1, Midd-West 0
MIDDLEBURG - Midd-West had a chance to score late in the second half when a player got tangled up with Mifflinburg goalie Danielle Ard.
But instead of the Mustangs, it was Mifflinburg who got a late goal, and a win in the Heartland Conference field hockey tilt, 1-0.
Morgan Unger scored the winner coming out of a scramble after a corner play with just two minutes left. It was a heartbreaker for the home team.
"We played well," Midd-West coach Mandi Romig said. "Even though we might not have registered as many shots, all the action was not in their offensive end."
The JV game ended in a scoreless tie.
Midd-West (6-5, 2-4) travels to Selinsgrove Wednesday.
