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By Andy Stine
astine@altoonamirror.com
The first four minutes of Wednesday evening's District 6 Class 2A quarterfinal with third-seeded Central and No. 6 Juniata looked like it was going to be a shootout.
Juniata scored in the first four minutes of the game, but Central dominated possession for much of the rest of the game. The Lady Dragons hit the crossbar twice on the night and had a couple more close calls, but were upset by the Indians in the end, 1-0, at Mansion Park Stadium.
Central actually had twice as many shots on the night than Juniata with a final total of 10-5, but the Lady Dragons came up empty-handed in what turned out to be their final game of the year.
"I've said it a couple times this year and you have to put it in the back of the net is what it comes down to," Central coach Randy Trexler said. "We can dominate everything else, but if we can't score, this is the result."
Juniata (8-7-1) ended up making the initial goal by Regan Lowrey the only one that it needed at the 3:49 mark.
"It's always a long trip here," Juniata coach Garrick Paden said. "You wonder how the legs are going to work after an hour and a half on the bus. We got here, and the girls came out early and we got the game-winner four minutes in."
Juniata defender Mylee Landis made a long pass down the field to Lowrey of at least 50 yards for the assist. Lowrey hit a couple touches and got the ball past Central keeper Kailyn Gahagan in the right corner.
"It was a long ball," Paden said. "Mylee picks out great passes for us. Regan saw the run and Mylee put a ball right on her side."
Lowrey and Landis weren't the only heroes for the Indians either. Juniata goalkeeper Reagan Burd had six saves on the night, and most of the shots she needed to stop were from close range.
"I just kind of didn't think, and just did it," Burd said. "I'm really excited to get to the semis."
"She had a couple big saves with close shots," Paden said. "She did everything right. She had her angles right. She was in the right positions. She did the best she could."
Lady Dragon senior Paiton Campbell hit the crossbar twice in the game -- once in the 25th minute off a free kick, and again with about 10 minutes left. Kira Trexler also rocketed a shot at Burd in the 58th minute, but Burd got a hand on it to keep Central off the scoreboard.
In a scary moment with 2:19 left in the game, Central junior Leya Hazenstab took a ball to the face and stopped the game for five minutes. Coach Trexler confirmed that Hazenstab likely has a concussion.
Although it was a disappointing season to an end, Central still finished with a record of 11-5-1.
"It's a deceiving record," Coach Trexler said. "I do think we're the best team in the league, but you have to put it together in these games here. If you can't, you go home early."
Juniata will visit second-seeded Cambria Heights on Monday evening at 6 p.m. in the semifinals. Cambria Heights defeated Central Cambria, 3-1, on Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals.
"They're a No. 2 seed for a reason," Paden said. "They're obviously a good team. We'll keep preparing as we have all year, and do the little things right."
SCORE BY HALVES
Juniata 1 0 -- 1
Central 0 0 -- 0
First Half: J -- Lowrey, (Landis assist), 3:49.
Goalies: Juniata -- Burd, 6 saves, 10 shots on goal; Central -- Gahagan, 4 saves, 5 shots on goal.
Shots: Juniata 5, Central 10.
Corner kicks: Juniata 2, Central 5.
Records: Juniata (8-7-1); Central (11-5-1).