Roundups: WolfPack hold off Thunder in double OT
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LEWISTOWN — Two young, upstart teams met up Thursday in the District 6 Class 1A semifinals held at Mifflin County High School.
The higher seeded Belleville Mennonite Thunder hosted St. Joseph's in the hopes in advancing to the championship game against either Bishop Carroll or West Shamokin.
The WolfPack were fresh off an earlier win in the quarterfinals against a tough Penns Valley squad.
Coming in as the number one seed, the Thunder came in sporting a record of 7-6-4 while the Wolfpack came in carrying a 5-11-2 mark.
It was a game of contradicting styles as the Thunder brought its finest game while the WolfPack came out with its aggressive and in-your-face defense.
The one had all the elements of what soccer fans look for in a post season contest.
In the end, the game would be a marathon nailbiter as St. Joe's were able to outlast Belleville Christian on penalty kicks 7-6.
“It was a tough loss," said Belleville Christian coach Sanie Vilakati.
"But I'm proud of the boys, we’ll dust this one off, and we look forward to what’s coming in the future, but I'm very proud of them."
It would be a kick from the WolfPack's Joseph Rokita that would notch the winning PK to capture the hard fought victory.
Early on, the St. Joseph's offense struck first.
Despite being outshot in the match to the 27-minute mark, the WolfPack's Taylor Gigante posted an unassisted blast, giving them a lead at 26:25.
St. Joseph's goalie Charles Ramos tallied five saves in the first half.
But the Thunder bounced back when Alex Reed unassisted found himself at the left side and slid a shot to the right corner for the game tying goal at 12:53.
Things got even more exciting in the second half.
Taking the early momentum St. Joseph's Owen Badger scored on a PK, after a Thunder foul in the box at 28:24.
However, the Thunder rumbled back when Ethan Renno blasted an unassisted goal at 25:16.
The Thunder later took the lead on a Logan Peachey goal at 15:28.
Things got even tighter as the Wolfpack had an answer and tied the game at three. Taylor Gigante found the side pole and the ball ricocheted in at 6:14.
Neither team was able to score in the final minutes as the game went into overtime.
It was a defensive contest for both teams as they forced a shoot out scenario.
After going through the rosters the game was decided on the Rokita kick.
St. Joseph's 3, Belleville Christian 3 (St. Joseph's 7-6)
STJ 1 2 0 0 – 3
BCS 1 2 0 0 – 3
Scoring
First Half
SJ – Taylor Gigante unassisted, 26:25.
BC – Alex Reed unassisted, 12:53
Second Half
SJ – Owen Badger PK, 28:24.
BC – Ethan Renno unassisted, 25:16.
BC – Logan Peachey unassisted, 15:28.
SJ – Taylor Gigante unassisted, 6:14.
Overtime
None
2nd Overtime
None
Penalty kicks (St. Joseph's 7, BCS 6)
Shots on goal: STJ – 21. BCS – 18.
Corners: STJ – 1. BCS – 6.
Goalies: STJ – Charles Ramos 11. BCS – Gage Geissinger 10.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
GIRLS SOCCER
Marauders eliminate Indians, 3-2
ALTOONA — No. 4 Juniata girls soccer lost to No. 1 Bishop Guilfoyle (17-0-3), 3-2, at Mansion Park during the D6 Class 1A semifinals on Thursday night.
Carolyn Heidenreich had one goal for the Indians. Claire Ciarrocchi added a goal.
Sara Montoya and Sylvia Brubaker each collected an assist.
Yaa Serwaa had 12 saves for Juniata (8-11).
“Incredibly tough loss tonight. Coming from a 1-8 start to the season, and finishing the second half 7-2 is an incredible turn around, and I couldn’t be any more proud of these girls. We were the better team tonight, and it just came out unlucky for us. The dedication and intensity the girls have shown the last week and a half in practices is no doubt the reason for the successes we saw in play tonight,” Juniata coach Ellie Shepps said.
“From the moment the girls stepped on the field, you could feel and see the heart in their play. We may not have come out on top, but it was not a game to hang our heads on. Not many teams are still playing, and even fewer will continue to play past this week. To end with a game of quite honestly our best soccer of the season is an incredible way to go out. We will miss our seniors dearly, but look forward to the girls returning next year as we have a goal to set for ourselves.”
FROM WEDNESDAY
BOYS SOCCER
Lions double up Warriors, 4-2
Juniata Christian beat the Indy Warriors, 4-2, on Wednesday and moved to 19-1-1.
Julian Flores de Valgez posted two goals, Jordan Lara added one and Zander Neimond tallied one.
JCS 4, Indy Warriors 2
First Half Goals
JCS goal by Julian Flores de Valgez
JCS goal by Julian Flores de Valgez
JCS goal by Jordan Lara, assist by Charlie Donovan
JCS goal by Zander Neimond, assist by Zander Neimond
Indy Warriors goal
Second Half Goals
Indy Warriors goal
Shots on Goal
JCS: 5
Indy Warriors: 9
Saves
JCS: Conner Leitzel: 6
Indy Warriors: 1
Corner Kicks
JCS: 2
Indy Warriors: 4
GIRLS SOCCER
JCS drops Cross Lanes, 2-1
Juniata Christian moved to 9-4-2 on the season as the Lions beat Cross Lanes, 2-1.
After Lauren Burgess scored for Cross Lanes, JCS rallied.
Nicole Lara scored in the first half for the Lions.
Then, Irene Peachey scored the eventual game-winner for JCS.
JCS had more shots, 10-6.
Emma Martin had five saves.
JCS: 2
Cross Lanes Christian: 1
First Half Goals
Cross Lanes Goal by Lauren Burgess
JCS Goal by Nicole Lara
Second Half Goals
JCS Goal by Irene Peachey, Assist by Nicole Lara
Shots on Goal
JCS: 10
Cross Lanes: 6
Saves
JCS: Emma Martin: 5
Cross Lanes: 5
Corner Kicks
JCS: 13
Cross Lanes: 2