MILLERSTOWN - The Greenwood Wildcats might have been nervous when their 2-0 lead was cut in half less than two minutes into the second half against Halifax. But if they were nervous, it didn't affect their play.
Greenwood won the Tri-Valley League boys soccer match 5-1, increasing its league record to 9-2.
Josh Ferguson led the way offensively, scoring all five of his team's goals. But Ferguson got a lot of help in the process. Jarrett Fortenbaugh assisted with three of those goals, and Tyler Fegley and Ryan Kerstetter each contributed one assist.
"(Ferguson) did get a lot of help in the sense that a lot of balls were placed to him nicely," Greenwood coach Tom Magill said.
Greenwood (13-2, 9-2) travels to Millersburg at Saturday morning.
Boys soccer
Danville 1, Midd-West 0
DANVILLE - Danville's lone tally in the first half was all it needed to upend Midd-West in Heartland Conference boys soccer action Tuesday.
Andrew Smith scored just 15 minutes in to give the Ironmen a 1-0 win over the Mustangs.
"We lacked the intensity tonight that is necessary to win a game like this," Midd-West coach Chris Sauer said. "We were just a little off with every aspect of our game."
Midd-West won the JV game 2-0.
Midd-West (8-6, 7-4) travels to Lewisburg Thursday.
Girls soccer
State College 5, Mifflin County 0
STATE COLLEGE - State College got off to a fast start and never looked back in a 5-0 Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division girls soccer win over Mifflin County Tuesday.
The Little Lions got goals from Robin Derr and Victoria Crawford in the first half en route to leading in shots 14-1.
In the second half, Derr and Crawford each found the net again to go along with Laura Holleran's tally.
Mifflin County also dropped the JV game 4-0.
Mifflin County travels to Carlisle Thursday.
Volleyball
Carlisle 3, Mifflin County 0
LEWISTOWN - The Mifflin County volleyball team had trouble bringing it mentally against Commonwealth Division opponent Carlisle on Tuesday, and it showed in the 3-0 loss.
"They played with 100 percent intensity in the beginning...but in the second and third there was mental mistake after mental mistake. Point after point," Mifflin County coach Matt Kern said.
Mifflin County scored 18 in its first set, but was never able to break that plateau in the second and third sets.
But even if the Huskies couldn't get the win, a few individual players had strong outings.
Sarah Bonson lead the way with seven service points and seven kills. Alyssa Stackpole finished her evening with 11 digs.
Mifflin County lost the JV contest 2-0.
Mifflin County (4-11) has its senior night tonight against Millersburg.
Juniata Valley 3, Mount Union 1
ALEXANDRIA - Tuesday's volleyball matchup between Mount Union and Juniata Valley came down to one thing: serving.
And unfortunately for Mount Union, the Hornets were able to do that a little bit better than the Trojans in a 3-1 Inter-County Conference loss.
Mount Union was able to win the second game to knot it up at one. They did so by serving well. But then things turned sour for the Trojans.
"They served us out of the gym in the third game," Mount Union coach Tessa McCormick said. "We couldn't handle it."
Mount Union went on to lose the third game and narrowly lose the fourth game.
"It was a battle of serving," McCormick said. "They ended up just (serving) better than we did."
Mount Union (6-8, 4-5) hosts Williamsburg Thursday.
Cross country
Boys: Mount Union 18, Juniata Valley 37
Girls: Juniata Valley 20, Mount Union 39
ALEXANDRIA - The Mount Union cross country team split the wins against Inter-County Conference opponent Juniata Valley on Tuesday, as the boys came home with a 18-37 win, and the girls fell 20-39.
It was a competitive event, as the boys took four out of the top five finishing places. Ryan McKay, who finished in first with a time of 20:26, was closely followed by teammate Hunter Corbin, whose 20:29 earned second place.
"Ryan McKay and Hunter Corbin finishing one and two was key for us today. And actually they pushed each other the whole race," Mount Union coach Bob Wydock said.
In both the boys and the girls teams, Wydock noted improvements for individual runners.
"For the most part, the majority of our runners improved their time again, and some set a personal best," Wydock said.
Mount Union (Boys: 2-5, 1-3; Girls: 2-5, 1-3) hosts Bald Eagle Area on Thursday.
Field hockey
Lancaster Country Day 6, Juniata 0
MIFFLINTOWN - With four wins under its belt, but none in the Tri Valley League, the Juniata field hockey team hosted Lancaster Country Day on Tuesday looking for that first TVL win.
That's not what Juniata got.
With a final score of 6-0, Lancaster Country Day put Juniata's TVL record to 0-8.
On a high note, after allowing five goals in the first half, Juniata only allowed one goal in the second.
"We just played a more compact defense in the second half," Juniata coach Becky Loy said.
Loy also pointed out that goalkeeper Katie Searer played a tough game.
"Katie did real well back there. I don't think she gets enough credit for what she has to do," Loy said.
Juniata (4-8, 0-8) travels to East Juniata on Thursday.
East Juniata 2, Newport 0
NEWPORT - It was the Courtney Elsasser and Lydia Koser show Tuesday, when the East Juniata field hockey team beat Newport 2-1 in Tri-Valley League action.
Elsasser scored both of the Tigers' goals, each of which was set up by Koser.
"In less than three minutes we took the ball down the field and put it in the cage," East Juniata coach Billie Haines said. "It was a great way to start the game."
All scoring occurred in the first half, and neither team was able to get past the other's defense during the second half.
"Newport came out in the second half with more intensity than the first half. They wanted to win, but our girls stayed on thbem," Haines said.
East Juniata (10-4, 5-3) hosts TVL rival Juniata on Thursday.
Midd-West 4, Milton 0
MIDDLEBURG - It looked like Midd-West was going to take a slim 1-0 lead into the half against Milton in Heartland Conference field hockey action Tuesday.
But in a split second, it all changed.
Larissa Sparrer's goal with nine seconds to play in the first half propelled the Mustangs to a 4-0 win over Milton.
"It built momentum for the second half," Midd-West coach Mandi Romig said.
That goal was Sparrer's second of the game. She scored her first with 25 minutes to play in the first half. In the second half, Alexus Steininger and Bree Kratzer had goals for the Mustangs.
"We had offensive pressure the entire game," Romig said. "It just took us a long time to get that first one in."
Midd-West (8-6, 3-5) hosts Danville Thursday.
Greenwood 2, Line Mountain 1
HERNDON - Greenwood found itself in a 1-1 tie against Line Mountain in a battle for supremacy in the Tri-Valley League.
But Mallory Fortenbaugh's goal early in the second half lifted the Wildcats to a 2-1 win over TVL foe Line Mountain.
"I thought we did a better job defensively," Greenwood coach Kent Houser said. "We were a step quicker in the second half."
The Eagles got on the board first when Madison Lagerman scored 10 minutes into the half. Her goal was countered by Lauren Fried's tying tally with 19 minutes to play in the first.
Greenwood beat Line Mountain earlier in the season. The Eagles came into the matchup 11-2. The Wildcats came out of it in much better shape.
"It's a game we had to have," Houser said. "A road game against a very good team. We felt great to come out of there with the win. I liked our composure and toughness."
Greenwood (11-2-1, 6-0) hosts Newport Thursday.
Junior high
Football
* 7th grade: Mifflin County 16, Altoona Maroon 12. Bryon Phillips and Trent Hidlay each had a touchdown for the Huskies. Hidlay and Ryan Walker added two-point conversions for Mifflin County. Mifflin County hosts Philipsburg-Osceola Wednesday.
