MIDDLEBURG — The East Juniata boys soccer season has come to an end as a second half surge carried Holy Cross over the Tigers, 2-1, in the opening round of the PIAA Class A State playoff game Tuesday night, at Midd-West High School.

The Tigers came out in the second half with a 1-0 lead before the Crusaders came out and went on the attack as nearly ten minutes into the frame when Ron Prislupski found an open Jacque Kakareka who had a one on one opportunity and capitalized to even the game at one apiece.

Holy Cross continued to put the pressure on the East Juniata net, but the Tigers were not going away quietly as they returned fire back at the Crusader net creating several opportunities to score but were not able to take advantage of those chances.

Then within the final 20 minutes left in the game, the Crusaders slipped past the East Juniata defense as Aiden McCoy sent a cross pass over to Aidan Krieger who proceeded to knock in the game winning goal for Holy Cross.

The lone goal of the game came from an unlikely player as defenseman Josef Book capitalized on a corner kick from Owen Dressler which sailed toward the net and Book turned it into a header.

East Juniata finishes the year at 19-4-1

Holy Cross 2, East Juniata 1
First half scoring
EJ – Josef Book (Owen Dressler), 17:58
Second half scoring
HC – Jacque Kakareka (Ron Prislupski), 32:25
HC – Aidan Krieger (Aiden McCoy), 19:16
Shots:
EJ 7-5
Corners:
EJ 6-3
Saves:
EJ-2 (Jack Hoffman)
HC-6 (Joshua Mease)