Greenwood 3, Juniata 0

MIFFLINTOWN — Juniata went down, but it was going without a fight as Greenwood earned all three goals in its 3-0 victory over the Indians in a Tri-Valley League boys soccer game Wednesday afternoon.

Right from the opening whistle, it was apparent that there was a clash of styles between the two teams as Greenwood was looking to turn the match into a track meet with an up-tempo way of offense while Juniata took the slow and steady approach.

Indians’ goalkeeper Wyatt Dessin faced heavy fire for most of the opening period but managed to fend off the Wildcat attack. The Juniata defensive line held up its end of the bargain as well, forcing Greenwood into making tough shots throughout the half.

On a few occasions, the Indians were able to get a run towards the Greenwood net but were stopped by keeper Pate Anderson.

The Indians were held to just two shots on goal for the first half while the Wildcats had eight. However, neither team managed to put the ball in the back of the net leaving it 0-0 at the break.

“I’m very pleased with how our guys played to get that game at 0-0 at halftime. It was a great result for us,” Indians coach Jared Byler said. “We’ve got a lot of guys injured and sick right now so we had to move a lot of chess pieces around on the board and have guys play out of positions that they never played before.”

However, the Wildcats found a way to breakthrough offensively as Gage Wirth slipped through the Juniata defense and found Lucas Beaver who knocked in the first goal of the game.

It didn’t take long for Greenwood to add another as a minute later, Kyle Corkle hustled his way down the field after a steal and moved the ball over to Nick Stuck who completed the goal.

The Wildcats tacked on one more goal late in the game as Beaver took advantage of shot that bounced off of Dessin and fired off another one shot that hit the back of the net.

Juniata (8-9) has finished its regular season and will be gearing up for the Tri-Valley League playoffs that will begin on Tuesday.

Greenwood 3, Juniata 0

SECOND HALF

GW – Lucas Beaver (Gage Wirth), 32:59

GW – Nick Stuck (Kyle Corkle), 31:24

GW – Beaver, 11:35

Shots:

GW 14-6

Corners:

GW 7-3

Saves:

J-12 (Wyatt Dessin)

GW-6 (Pate Anderson)