From staff reports
NORTHUMBERLAND - Austin Byler scored two goals and helped on two others as Belleville Mennonite shut out Northumberland Christian, 5-0, in boys soccer Thursday.
The win was huge not only because it offset a 6-5 squeaker against the same team in their first meeting, but because it cemented the Trojans' place in the District 6 tournament by clinching a .500 season for the team.
"Giving up five goals to them last Monday was a concern," Belleville Mennonite coach Brian Renno said.
And there was concern again Thursday, when the Trojans were under pressure early in the game until Renno made adjustments that started to turn the tide.
"It made a big difference in how well we marked," he said. "Austin slowly started to take the game over. He's starting to play with a lot more confidence."
Andrew Miller also scored a pair and had one assist. Noah Andrews scored the other goal.
Belleville Mennonite (9-3-1) is guaranteed to play again Oct. 18 against Harrisburg Academy, but is trying to replace a lost game that was to have been Monday. Renno said they hope to get a match with Juniata; that game is tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday at Fermanagh-Mifflintown Elementary, based on availability of officials for the match.
"I would love to get them. I would really like to play them," he said.
Boys soccer
Lewisburg 3, Midd-West 2
LEWISBURG - Midd-West and Lewisburg each scored with less than two minutes to play in the second half.
But the Mustangs were already down 2-1. Lewisburg's Max Reed scored with 1:13 remaining to seal the 3-2 Heartland Conference win over Midd-West.
"We were unlucky to lose today. We played well for large parts of the game and had them under pressure," Midd-West coach Chris Sauer said.
For the most part, it was a pretty close game. Midd-West's Colton Keister's goal midway through the second half knotted the game at one. Jake Keister added Midd-West's final goal with 31 ticks on the second half clock.
The Green Dragons also won the JV game, 2-1.
Midd-West travels to Bloomsburg Monday, the first of three games next week for the Mustangs (8-7, 7-5), who need one win to qualify for districts.
Girls soccer
East Juniata 12, Line Mountain 0
COCOLAMUS - East Juniata didn't take long to get control in its 12-0 Tri-Valley League win over Line Mountain Thursday.
Molly School found the net just 22 seconds into the league tilt and then added another goal just a minute later.
East Juniata scored seven first-half goals - two each by Scholl and Kayla Hoke - in its rout of the Eagles. The Tigers' defense only allowed one shot to Line Mountain and the offense had 30 itself.
Also scoring two goals for East Juniata were Ashlyn Guyer and Michelle Mease. Taylor Hoke, Taylor Marker, Amber Knouse and McKayla Goodling scored one apiece.
East Juniata (10-3-1) hosts Lancaster Country Day Tuesday.
Carlisle 6, Mifflin County 0
CARLISLE - Carlisle controlled play from the opening whistle and continued to build on a progressing season with a 6-0 Commonwealth Division win over Mifflin County Thursday.
The Huskies were only able to get off five shots against a stingy Thundering Herd defense. Carlisle scored twice in the first eight minutes and rolled to a 5-0 advantage by halftime.
The Thundering Herd added another goal early in the second half to put the final score up of 6-0.
Halle Fisher and Sage Heckendorn combined for 11 saves for the Huskies
Mifflin County travels to Hollidaysburg Monday.
Halifax 1, Juniata 0
HALIFAX - Two weeks ago, Juniata girls soccer controlled Halifax from start to finish in a 4-0 win. Thursday was a different story.
The Wildcats got a goal midway through the first half and Juniata just couldn't muster up enough offense in a 1-0 Tri-Valley League loss.
"We've been playing with fire all year," Juniata coach Brian Strawser said. "They stuck one in on us and let them control the pace of the game."
Juniata completely controlled the second half. However, the Indians just couldn't find twine in the final 40 minutes.
"The second half we really took it to them," Strawser said. "They were defending for their lives and we were unable to put one in - a real letdown tonight."
Juniata (8-2-1, 7-2-1) hosts Line Mountain Tuesday.
Field hockey
Midd-West 1, Danville 0
MIDDLEBURG - With only 11:18 left to play and the score tied at 0-0, Midd-West's Abby Miller shot one past the keeper to not only seal the 1-0 win over Danville but also to qualify her team for the District 4 tournament.
But it wasn't just Miller who earned the win - the whole team put forth a tremendous effort to put another game in the win column, Midd-West coach Mandi Romig said.
"Our defense and goalie really stuck tough in there, especially against all the corners they had. And their goalie was awesome. She was really good," Romig said of the game's long defensive battle.
But even if defense was the name of the game, it was Miller's goal that kept the game from going into overtime. During a penalty corner, Midd-West's Larissa Sparrer took a shot, which was deflected by Danville keeper Kylie Edwards, and Miller was there to finish.
"I think that was the only way were were going to be able to score. (Edwards) took care of every direct shot we had," Romig said.
Midd-West (9-6, 4-5) travels to face Danville again on Monday.
Greenwood 4, Newport 0
MILLERSTOWN - Mallory Fortenbaugh scored twice, both unassisted, as Greenwood blanked Perry County rival Newport, 4-0, in Tri-Valley League field hockey Thursday.
In was the first home game for the Wildcats since Sept. 20.
Brittany Fleisher and Mackenzie Wirth each had a goal and an assist for Greenwood, which outshot the Buffaloes 16-1 and had 19 penalty corners in the game.
"We were aggressive and moved well to the ball," Greenwood coach Kent Houser said. "We got some quality shots off our corner game. That's one of the things we really put some emphasis on this week."
Greenwood also won the JV game, 1-0.
The Wildcats (11-2-1, 7-0) can clinch the Tri-Valley League title with a pair of wins Monday, when reschedules created an unusual doubleheader. Greenwood hosts Lancaster Country Day at 6 p.m. and Juniata at 7:30.
Cross country
Boys: Mount Union 15, Bald Eagle Area 50
Girls: Mount Union 20, Bald Eagle Area 42
MOUNT UNION - Thursday was a good day to be a Mount Union cross country runners, as both the boys and girls teams took decisive wins over Bald Eagle Area in non-conference competition.
Mount Union coach Bob Wydock said he was "very proud and pleased with the way both our boys and girls ran tonight. In fact, the majority of the team improved their times once again."
The top runner for the boys was Hunter Corbin, whose 20:10 earned him second place. Katrina Hammon also got second place for the girls with a 23:34.
Mount Union (Boys: 3-5, 1-3; Girls: 3-5, 1-3) competes in the Inter-County Conference championship meet on Wednesday at Juniata Valley.
Junior high
Girls basketball
* A game: Juniata 26, East Juniata 16. Josie Swartz scored 10 points for the winners. Juniata is now 7-6.
* B game: Juniata 17, East Juniata 9. Josie Swartz scored 11 points for the winners. Juniata is now 10-1.
Football
* 9th grade: Mount Union 26, Northen Bedford 20. Robbie Steel had a 12-yard run in the first quarter. Sam Estep threw three touchdown passes - one to Wes Miller, one to D.J. Bookwalter and one to Shakeer Walker with four seconds left for the win. Mount Union is 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the ICC.
* 8th grade: Mount Union 8, Northern Bedford 0. C.J. Booher threw a 75-yard touchdown to Devin Kuhstos for the game's only score. Mount Union is 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the ICC. Both teams hosts Everett Thursday.
