BELLEVILLE - An opening round loss and a slow start in Saturday's consolation game of the Belleville Mennonite boys soccer tournament was enough to worry Brian Renno, coach of the host Trojans.
So he decided to make a change, turning to the program's younger players. It was a good move - freshmen Josiah Yoder and Derek Byler teamed up to score the only goal of the contest, and Belleville Mennonite notched its first win of the year, 1-0 over Penns Valley.
"We came out flat Saturday. Our heads were hanging after Friday evenings loss," Renno explained. "I was very concerned."
But when he put the two ninth graders on the top, they came through. Byler got the ball on his foot at the 18 and crossed it, Renno said, and Yoder put it away with his head off a deflection - just minutes after the two entered the game.
He said that's points for all four of his team's freshman in the tournament.
"Just a hustle goal, the right place at the right time," Renno said. "I think its unique that each one of them is in the scoring column in the book already."
Belleville Mennonite (1-1) hosts Harrisburg Academy Tuesday.
Boys soccer
East Juniata tournament
COCOLAMUS - Landon Sheaffer may need a new hat rack after his performance in Saturday's East Juniata boys soccer tournament.
But he won't need a trophy case - despite scoring seven goals, and getting the trick in each game of the event, Lewisburg converted a pair of penalty kicks in the title match en route to a 4-3 victory.
The host Tigers pummeled Huntingdon in the opener, 8-0.
Udoka Eze and Nick Janesh each scored two for the Green Dragons in the finale.
Also putting up big numbers for East Juniata were Devin Goodling with two tallies and a helper, Spencer Reinford with a goal and two assists and Delvin Hockenbroch with one of each.
The Tigers (1-1) open their Tri-Valley League campaign Tuesday, hosting Greenwood.
Midd-West tournament
MIDDLEBURG - Midd-West shot a bunch but couldn't get one in the net in its season opener, also the first round of the Mustangs' boys soccer tournament.
In the consolation game, the home team couldn't be stopped.
Colton Keister scored twice and Tyler Arbogast had a goal and an assist for the Mustangs in a 5-0 win over Loyalsock, somewhat making up for the earlier outcome, a 1-0 overtime loss to Athens, who Midd-West outshot 19-3.
Keister's tallies came just 47 seconds apart as Midd-West built a 3-0 lead across a five-minute span before the first 10 minutes of the game ticked away.
The Mustangs begin their Heartland Conference season Wednesday at Milton.
Field hockey
Perry County tournament
ELLIOTTSBURG - Brittany Fleisher's hat trick represented all of Greenwood's scoring in its season opener Saturday. The Wildcats got two goals and an assist from Mallory Fortenbaugh in the Perry County Tournament finale, giving the Millerstown school the crown.
The Wildcats posted shutouts in both contests, 3-0 over Susquenita in the opener and 5-0 over West Perry.
Fleisher added an assist to her totals in the second game. Kelsey Keener had a goal and an assist in the tournament, while Katie Barton had a helper in each game. Goalie Katie Osborne stopped three in each game for Greenwood.
Greenwood (2-0) travels to Lower Dauphin Tuesday.
Girls soccer
East Juniata 4,
Shikellamy 0
COCOLAMUS - Kayla Hoke had a goal and two assists as East Juniata's girls soccer team opened the season with a 4-0, non-league win over Shikellamy.
The Tigers were up 2-0 at the half and carried that lead to the final two minutes, when a pair of late goals crossed the line.
East Juniata (1-0) travels to Midd-West Tuesday.
Juniata Mennonite 5,
New Covenant 4
MANSFIELD - Alexis Hahn-Kline had a hat trick and an assist to lead Juniata Mennonite to a 5-4 win over Mansfield New Covenant in the Lion girls' Allegheny Christian Athletic Association soccer opener Friday. Valarie Meiser and Lauren Breon each had a goal and an assist.
Juniata Mennonite hosts Northumberland Christian Tuesday.
