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Juniata Mennonite boys win league on penalty kicks

Sentinel photo by JEFF FISHBEIN Juniata Mennonite’s Bradigan Davis (17) boots the ball past Northumberland Christian’s Braiden Reich in the Allegheny Christian Association boys soccer championship Saturday.

DUNCANSVILLE — Northumberland Christian played a great game in the championship of the Allegheny Christian Athletic Association boys soccer tournament Saturday.

The Warriors had more shots than Juniata Mennonite, doubled up in corner kicks, controlled play for most of the second half — probably most of the game. Add to that the less than pleasant conditions — a soft, muddy field and periods of light rain; a Blair County Christian pitch that was visibly smaller than regulation — and there was just one thing the Lions could do.

Make lemonade.

There aren’t enough lemons to overcome the sweet feeling Juniata Mennonite enjoyed when Josiah Courtney got the ball past Northumberland Christian’s keeper in the seventh round of penalty kicks, winning the title for the McAlisterville school, 1-0.

“It wasn’t the way anyone expected it, but we knew we could,” Juniata Mennonite coach Kurt Wagner said. “We’re pleased with the outcome. I think it was the best game we played all year — I don’t think it was a fluke.”

It could have ended in the first five when it got that far — the Warriors missed on their third and fourth tries, while on Juniata Mennonite shot was blocked. The first attempt at the win went wide.

The Lions got a scare in the sixth round when the Warriors got a hand on Trent Smeltz’s try. The next attempt by Northumberland Christian went high, and Courtney won the game.

The Warriors had size, speed and plenty of opportunities to live up to their top seed long before the game progressed to that point. Six minutes into the game, the Lion defense had to play cleanup to stop a likely goal when Sam Taylor, the Juniata Mennonite keeper, was drawn away.

But as more time passed, it was apparent that Wagner was taking advantage of conditions as a strategy for his team’s eventual success.

“Size (of the field) helped, the sloppiness helped because it slowed the game down for us a little bit,” he explained. “It gave us a little bit more time to react and think about where we needed to move the ball.”

That was matched by a Warrior defensive save against Tommy Allen 17 minutes in, and a solid 40-yard boot by Ashton Martin was stopped two minutes later.

With 15 minutes to play in the first, Northumberland Christian had two chances just 30 seconds apart, missing the first when no one was home to finish a cross, then going wide on a good angle shot from the top corner of the box.

In the second half, Nehemiah Courtney couldn’t finish a setup from Josiah Courtney, and also missed on a dish to Allen, who couldn’t get it in. Taylor stopped Northumberland on three big tries from different positions and angles, and had a little luck when a ball rolled wide with just 90 seconds in regulation.

After a back-and-forth first overtime — the ACAA plays two full five-minute periods, the two five-minute sudden victory periods before kicks — the second had only one close play when the Warriors’ Aaron Knauss had a clean opening after a corner, but slipped turning on the ball.

In the third overtime, a Martin shot was misfielded at the other end, and Josiah Courtney stepped in front of a Brandon Erwine ball to keep the game going.

“We packed it in and we played well defensively. We lacked numbers forward,” Wagner said. “In the overtime periods we had a couple good opportunities.”

The last overtime was sluggish as both teams wore out, setting up the shootout finish.

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