Strong defense on display for Bald Eagle Area girls soccer in district semifinal win over Juniata
With solid play from its defensive back line and the attacking prowess of its forwards, No. 6-seed Bald Eagle Area girls soccer put away No. 7 Juniata, 1-0, on Tuesday evening during a chilly District 6 Class 2A semifinal game to cement its trip to the championship on Thursday.
As the time slowly ticked off of the clock in the first half, senior forward Falen McHenry knocked in a header to take the lead. BEA’s defense stood tall the remainder of the game to secure the shutout. Eagles coach Jared Moore said he sees the victory as the culmination of his team’s effort the entire season.
“It feels great. These guys have finally clicked and it looks really, really nice,” Moore said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Bald Eagle sophomore goalkeeper Angelina Grieb put the game on ice for Juniata with a number of saves and barked out orders from the net, setting up her defense and keeping the Eagles in position to protect the goal. Not only did she show the ability to lead, but she excelled at it.
“Defense was fantastic tonight,” Moore said. “They just shut them down and didn’t give them many chances. They [Juniata] came out strong in the second half. They’re a good team — every team is a good team here on out. Angie was great, absolutely great in the goal. She saved a couple of good balls high. I appreciate her focus tonight. It was very good.”
Juniata co-head coach Garrick Paden knew that Bald Eagle would enter the game with relentless defensive play. The Eagles had eight shutouts prior to their matchup with Juniata and held a four-game winning streak. Bald Eagle also held a 6-3 advantage at home on the year.
Everything needed to go right for Juniata to pull out a win at Wingate.
“Bald Eagle is a team that is very defensive and whenever you can play them going down a goal, it’s tough,” Paden said. “They don’t give up a lot of goals and I talk to the girls about putting together 80 minutes and that’s a little lapse there and that’s the one that puts it away. Just like the other night, we had the one goal against Central to put us through. Tonight, the coin flipped the other way and they got the one goal that put them through.”
The Eagles started off their season with two wins against Bellefonte and Philipsburg-Osceola, both 2-1 victories. Their next five matchups weren’t as easy, beginning with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Clearfield, a 2-0 victory over Penns Valley and three consecutive loss versus Hollidaysburg (2-0), Tyrone (3-1) and Central Mountain (1-0). Bald Eagle had a 1-4 record over that span and looked to turn things around.
Bald Eagle went on to defeat Huntingdon 2-1 on Sept. 28 and turned its fate around — going 6-3-1 for the remainder of the regular season. The Eagles took on a Westmont Hilltop team that finished the year 14-4 in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs last week, winning 1-0 thanks to a McHenry penalty kick.
With Tuesday night’s win, Bald Eagle will advance to the district championship game on Thursday to take on top-seeded Bedford. Bedford defeated Somerset, 4-0, in the semifinals.
Other District 6 soccer results for Centre County teams this week
District 6 Class 3A boys playoffs: No. 2 Bellefonte soccer lost 1-0 in overtime to No. 3 Central Mountain in the opening round of the PIAA District 6 Class 3A playoffs on Monday at Rogers Stadium. Evan Cross scored for the Wildcats with 12:15 remaining in OT to give Central Mountain the win and the trip to the district championship game on Wednesday against top-seeded Hollidaysburg. Central Mountain out-shot Bellefonte 17-15.
District 6 Class 3A girls playoffs: No. 3 Bellefonte lost 2-0 to No. 2 Tyrone in the opening round of the PIAA District 6 Class 3A playoffs on Monday at Hollidaysburg, ending its season. Tyrone will play top-seeded Hollidaysburg for the championship on Wednesday.
District 6 Class 4A girls playoffs: No. 3 State College fell 3-1 to No. 2 Mifflin County in the opening round of the PIAA District 6 Class 4A championships on Monday at Bellefonte’s Rogers Stadium. The Little Lions and Huskies were knotted up a one apiece at the half, thanks to goals from Mifflin County’s Aubrey Strohecker and State College’s Mia Reese. But Strohecker netted two more in the second half to give Mifflin County the win and a trip to the district championship game on Wednesday against top-seeded Altoona. Mifflin County out-shot State College 10-2.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 10:37 PM.
