By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – Saturday, the Bellefonte girls lacrosse team hosted Mifflin County in a late morning contest.

The game would be a cliffhanger and would not be decided until the final quarter before MIfflin County would muscle out a 7-6 thriller over the tough group from Bellefonte.

Mifflin County’s Mara Gallo led the way for the Huskies with five goals while goalie Joshlynn Tate snagged six saves on the day.

“I’m very happy with my team. Our defense was strong our offense did the job when we needed it and we got the “W””, said Mifflin county coach Hillary Worley. “She’s (goalie Joshlynn Tate) definitely showing improvement everyday. This is her first year she is officially in goal. She continues to improve everyday.”

In the first half, both team’s defenses took center stage with the Lady Raiders holding a slim 4-3 advantage.

“This is our second game of the year. We still have a nucleus of freshmen and sophomores that are playing,” said Bellefonte coach Kerry O’ Hara. “We just got to get them more field time and more IQ of the game. We’ve been working on that. Hopefully we can start meshing it and start making a difference. We played hard though. We played the whole 48 minutes.

Bellefonte scored first on their possession when Alana McNichol hit on an unassisted goal at 11:09.

Mifflin County battled right back when the Huskies defense settled I and took the ball up the field, finishing off the play was Mara Gallo who hit a blast at 8:29 to tie the contest.

Bellefonte jumped back into the lead on a fast break goal by Lila Dawson as she hit an unassisted goal at  2:59 in the first, making it a 2-1 contest.

Gallo tied the game as she hit a tough shot in the middle of the pack with five ticks left in the opening period.

After a long possession to start off the period, Bellefonte was stopped by the Huskies defense. However,  Taylor Badger stole the ball out of the air and finished things on an unassisted goal at 9:17.

But Gallo and company tied things once again as she aggressively attacked the goal, tying things at three at 6:06 left in the second.

With time running down in the period, the Lady Raiders got a late goal by Aubrey Barnard, giving Bellefonte the 4-3 edge going into the intermission.

Both teams came out strong defensively as they closed down the running lanes to keep from the other team getting the easy look.

Mifflin County scored first in the third as Gallo got loose in the crease with a shot at 1:43.

With the clock ticking down on the third, the Huskies got a buzzer beater by Hannah Sharp, putting the Huskies ahead going into the final stanza, 5-4.

In the fourth, the Huskies struck first as Gracelynn Beckenbaugh scored off an inbounds pass, upping the Huskies lead to 6-4.

But Bellefonte refused to go down quietly.

After a steal, Barnard broke loose and hit on a break away attempt at 6:26.

But Mifflin County scored again to go up by two once again via another shot by Gallo, making it a 7-5 lead.

With Bellefonte threatening late, the “Gray and Black attack” held, forcing Bellefonte to call a time out with 3:13 left.

With less than a minute left, Dawson came up strong for Bellefonte posting a goal, making it a one-goal contest.

But the Huskies held on for the 7-6 thriller.

MC 7, Bellefonte 6

MC 2 1 2 2 – 7

BE 2 2 0 2 – 6

BE – Alana McNichol unassisted, 11:09.

MC – Mara Gallo unassisted, 8:29.

BE – Lila Dawson unassisted, 2:59

MC – Gallo unassisted, 1:25.

Second quarter

BE – Taylor Badger unassisted, 9:17

MC – Gallo unassisted, 6:04.

BE – Aubrey Barnard unassisted 2:40.

Third quarter

MC – Gallo unassisted, 1:43

MC – 27 Hannah Sharp, :01

Fourth quarter

MC – Gacelynn Beckenbaugh, 7:42.

BE – Barnard unassisted 6:26.

MC – Gallo unassisted, 4:50.

BE – Lila Dawson unassisted :44

Shots: MC –  17, BE – 14

Saves: Joshlynn Tate (MC)6, Ava Hill (BE) 8.