LEWISTOWN - Cumberland Valley was sitting atop the Commonwealth Division leader board at 9-0 when it arrived in Mifflin County Friday.
Not so when the bus headed back down U.S. 322 - the Eagles became the last Commonwealth team to suffer a setback within the Mid-Penn Conference's largest division, and it was Mifflin County that came out on top.
Cumberland Valley had a little trouble transitioning from turf to grass and Mifflin County took advantage of an early goal to win the contest Friday, 3-0.
One could almost feel the energy emitting from the Mifflin County bench when the underdog Huskies took the field against the visitors. "Fired up" and "vocal" would be good descriptive words for the Huskies, who scored first courtesy of Sam Peters, an unassisted tally just over three minutes into the contest.
Soon after the Peters goal, with 23:44 remaining in the first half, Cumberland Valley coach Susan Emerick called time out to rally her team. But the clock stoppage failed to dampen the spirit or the hustle of Husky defenders Renee Grill, Mary Havice and Sabrina Boring, who continued to shut out the Eagle offense.
Cool crisp temperatures seemed to promote crisp passes by both teams. Both teams displayed excellent stick work, footwork and movement to the ball. This game seemed to have the electricity of a playoff game.
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* Mifflin County hosts Juniata Monday
Mifflin County's extraordinary front-line speed was evident on more than one downfield breakaway. Efforts on some plays were made on sheer will and determination as Mifflin County refused to lose.
Macie Lucas scored the second goal with 10 minutes left in the first half. Lucas received a double assist courtesy of Boring and Whitney Strohecker.
Both Emerick and Mifflin County coach Tish Maclay used clock stoppages as time ticked away to inspire and instruct their teams. Much of the second half was played with Cumberland Valley on the attack, but the Mifflin County defense stayed the course.
With four minutes to play in the game, Peters salted it away for her team when she took a ball delivery from Sara Neff and put the punctuation point on the victory.
"It was a big win, a good win" Maclay said. "I think it was a total team effort. They communicated with each other and their play today shows what we are capable of achieving.
"We saw the fire on the field. Field hockey is a team sport and this win was a direct reflection of a total team effort," she said. Individually, she added, "Jordan Myers had a nice game in the cage today."
The JV contest went to Cumberland Valley, 3-0.
Mifflin County (7-6, 6-4) hosts Juniata Monday in the Huskies' "Live United" game. All proceeds from raffles and the concession stand go the Mifflin/Juniata United Way.
