LEWISTOWN - Mifflin County's Sam Hendricks and Michaela DeBenedetto each picked up singles wins as the Huskies took down Susquehanna Township 3-2 in Mid-Penn tennis action.
Hendricks steamed through Sophia Fox 6-3, 6-0. But it wasn't that easy for DeBenedetto. It took DeBenedetto three sets to upend Jenny Sayre, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The doubles team of Olivia Runk and Kate Hugendubler won a first set tie break and went on to finish off the opposition to secure the Mifflin County win.
Mifflin County (4-5) travels to Central Mountain today.
Field Hockey
Cumberland Valley 4,
Mifflin County 0
MECHANICSBURG - Teamwork and good communication are essential to any sports team, and those are the two things the Mifflin County field hockey team lacked when the Huskies took a 4-0 loss to Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division opponent Cumberland Valley on Monday.
"We got completely outplayed by Cumberland Valley," Mifflin County coach Tish Maclay said.
Maclay was disappointed with the lack of teamwork she saw from her girls.
"We had very little communication, tried to play through their sticks too much, and had very little passing."
Mifflin County (1-2, 2-3) hosts Commonwealth Division opponent, Carlisle, on Wednesday.
Greenwood 2, Selinsgrove 0
MILLERSTOWN - It was a 60-minute defensive battle as the Greenwood field hockey team hosted Selinsgrove on Monday night, but in the end Greenwood came out on top with a 2-0 shutout.
"It really was a pretty wide open game, and I thought both teams did a good job of keeping the others from getting many decent shots," Greenwood coach Kent Houser said.
However, even though both teams made it difficult to score, Greenwood's Mackenzie Wirth and Hattie Kuhns were each able to sneak a shot past Selinsgrove's keeper in the first and second halves respectively.
Houser was pleased with his team's performance, and highlighted the girls' defensive performance.
"I thought we did a really nice job of keeping them away from our circle in the second half," Houser said.
Greenwood (3-0-1) hosts East Juniata tonight.
Boys soccer
Altoona 5, Mifflin County 1
ALTOONA - The Mifflin County boys soccer team made the long trip out to District 6 foe Altoona on Monday night, and came home with a 5-1 loss for the trouble.
Altoona's Mike Beckle was a thorn in the Huskies' side all night long. Finishing the game with a hat trick, Beckle was an offensive threat the Mifflin County defense couldn't quite handle.
"Beckle was a threat in the air all night long. He was very good at winning 50/50 balls all night long," Mifflin County coach Jared Byler said
Although Mifflin County took a tough loss, Byler wanted to highlight Weston Shugarts' performance from right wing.
"Weston Shugarts was doing a great job out on the right wing for us," Byler said. "He was running the defenders ragged, and just unfortunately we weren't creating anything off of those opportunities."
Mifflin County (0-4) continues to look for a win as the team travels to Cedar Cliff today.
Belleville Mennonite 4, Ligonier Valley 0
BELLEVILLE - The Belleville Mennonite boys made a promise to themselves at the beginning of this season - they wouldn't lose two games in a row. And Monday, after coming off a loss to Forbes Road last week, Belleville Mennonite stuck to its promise and defeated Ligonier Valley 4-0 at home.
"One of our goals for this season is not to lose two in a row," Belleville Mennonite coach Brian Renno said. "And after we lost last Thursday to Forbes Road, we needed to win today to accomplish our goal."
But Belleville Mennonite didn't just accomplish a goal with the win - Andrew Miller, the team's top scorer, also notched his first goal of the season.
"He hadn't scored yet," Renno said of Miller, explaining that Miller had been suffering from a mental block. However, after Miller scored against Ligonier Valley, Renno hopes to see him get back on track.
Miller's hat trick and Austin Byler's goal off a direct free kick constituted all of Belleville Mennonite's goals for the outing.
"Hopefully we can keep things moving," said Renno, who thinks his team has some good momentum right now.
Belleville Mennonite (2-2) travels to Columbia County Christian on Thursday.
Midd-West 8, Shikellamy 0
SUNBURY - Offense was the word of the game as the Midd-West boys soccer team traveled to Shikellamy for a big 8-0 Heartland Conference win.
Within the first five minutes of the game, Midd-West's Jake Keister notched a goal to break open the offense, and from that point on the Mustangs didn't stop scoring until the end of the game.
Midd-West coach Chris Sauer thought his team's offense was a little bit slow at first, but definitely gained momentum as the game progressed.
"We struggled at times because they played flat in the back trying to draw us off sides," Sauer said.
"But once we settled down and made better choices our offense started working."
And Sauer was right - the offense really was working. Midd-West outshot Shikellamy 23-6, and the Mustang's eight goals were spread out among six different players.
Midd-West (2-0, 3-1) hosts Danville on Wednesday for further Heartland Conference action.
Juniata Mennonite 1, Bloomsburg Christian 0
BLOOMSBURG - Tony Gehman's unassisted goal with 23:14 left in the game propelled Juniata Mennonite to a 1-0 win over Bloomsburg Christian Monday in boys soccer action.
Gehman had an open shot from the outside and converted for the game winner. Juniata Mennonite led in shots 21-6 and had opportunities to break the game open.
"We had quite a few opportunities before the goal," Juniata Mennonite coach Kurt Wagner said. "We were finally able to get one."
Wagner said his team's strong passing was the key in the win. During the season, the Lions have struggled to get to the fourth pass. But against Bloomsburg Christian, Juniata Mennonite did just that.
Juniata Mennonite hosts Sunbury Christian today.
Girls soccer
Juniata Mennonite 6, Bloomsburg Christian 1
BLOOMSBURG - It was a successful day for the Juniata Mennonite girls soccer team, as the girls traveled to take a 6-1 win over Bloomsburg Christian on Monday.
Juniata Mennonite's Lauren Breon had a hat trick, scoring goals in the first, second and third quarters. Alexis Hahn-Kline added two goals to the team's effort. Tianna Bells, and Valarie Meiser also scored for the Lions.
Juniata Mennonite coach Trisha Hoffman was very pleased with her team's performance.
"It was a very good game," Hoffman said. "Our defense hadn't been working too well together. It was a good game to work on that."
Juniata Mennonite (3-2) hosts Sunbury Christian today.
Volleyball
Mifflin County 3, Penns Valley 2
SPRING MILLS - Mount Union started slow. But then Tessa McCormick and the Trojans got things going.
After losing the first two sets, Mount Union rattled off the next three to claim a 3-2 non-league win over Penns Valley.
"We came out flat and were just going through the motions," Mount Union coach Tessa McCormick said. "We weren't using our offense."
In the final three sets Mount Union was using its offense. Ashlyn Drake finished the game with 31 service points.
"We talked more about pushing the passes up closer and the last three games we really started hitting the way we are capable of."
Mount Union (2-1, 0-1) travels to Williamsburg Thursday.
Golf
Heartland Conference
Midd-West 333, Shikellamy 346, Williamsport 349, Selinsgrove 353, Loyalsock 353, Mifflinburg 387
WILLIAMSPORT - Midd-West's Adam Winey fired a 76 to lead Midd-West to a Heartland Conference golf win Monday at Williamsport Country Club.
Winey's 76 was followed by Blake Zechman's 78. The final two scorers for the Mustangs were Aidan Edmiston (89) and Shane Connahan (90).
Midd-West (17.5-2.5) travels to Mifflinburg Sept. 18.
Mid-Penn Conference
Cumberland Valley 369, Mechanicsburg 415, Carlisle 419, Mifflin County 425, Northern 428, Red Land 431, Cedar Cliff 463
CARLISLE - Mifflin County put five scorers in the 80s in its Mid-Penn Conference golf outing at the wide open Carlisle Barracks Monday.
Led by Marc Auker's 82, the Huskies came in fourth with a total score of 425. Cumberland Valley, who had four players in the 70s, took home the top spot by firing a 396. Mechanicsburg was second and Carlisle was third.
"I said to our guys that's the type of golf we're capable of playing," Mifflin County coach Kevin O'Donnell said. "We can play better than that though."
Jason Perry followed Auker with an 83. Evan Pupo's 85, Hunter Walker's 87 and Nate Koller's 88 rounded out the scoring for Mifflin County.
"Today we were just able to relax and play golf," O'Donnell said.
Mifflin County (9-21) travels to Range End, Northern's home course, today.
