Bald Eagle boys soccer falls to Juniata in District 6 Class AA quarters
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LEWISTOWN – Defending their crown, the Juniata Indians boys soccer team opened its 2026 postseason campaign in a rematch from last year as they battled a tough Bald Eagle Area team looking for revenge from last year’s 1-0 overtime loss.
The two mirrored last year's defensive effort in this contest as well, as both found themselves scoreless at the intermission. This year, two second-half goals from Jackson Shellenberger proved to be the deciding factor, as the Indians moved on to the District 6 Class AA semifinals with the 2-0 victory.
"In the first half, we didn’t think we played to our potential. I’m not quite sure what it was, if it was pregame jitters or what," said Juniata coach Jared Byler. "But once we got in at halftime, we made some adjustments. We told the guys what to change and in the second half, we played to our potential. So, I was glad to see the boys respond and give a better effort in the second half than what they did the first."
The Eagles got a strong outing from their goalie Tanner Pearce, as he was tough to get past, stopping 15 shots.
"Tanner was absolutely off the chart tonight. I can’t say enough of how proud I am of him," said Bald Eagle Area coach Jason Bair. "With that kid, we knew he had it in him and you saw it tonight. I mean, he and our defense worked their tails off.”
Juniata had the momentum offensively from beginning to end, as they cut down the field and forced the action primarily on the Eagles' side of the field. Offensively, the Indians accounted for 28 shots on the night, 17 of which landed on goal.
After a scoreless first half, Juniata came out strong as they were able to quickly get up the field and into the waiting foot of Shellenberger. Coming from the left, Shellenberger snuck it past a diving Pearce to end the stalemate at 1-0.
Before the Eagles were able to settle back in, the Indians went right back in their box, where they again found an open Shellenberger. Shellenberger slid another quick shot past Pearce to give the Juniata squad some cushion.
"Jack’s a good player. He does a nice job for us, getting in behind defenders and creating goal scoring chances for himself. But both of those goals that he scored, if you watch, they came off of three, four passes before that," said Byler. "Both those goals were a total team effort from our guys, keeping possession, keeping their foot on the gas, going forward. Just two well earned goals for us tonight."
From there, the Indians used its offense as a good defense as they worked the ball around and away of the Eagles’ offense.
“We had some players hobbled, and I don’t have as many dogs as they do in the fight, and it showed in the game tonight," said Bair.
Despite the pressure on the Bald Eagle side, the Bald Eagle backline and its leader Pearce refused to let another goal go in, as he found himself diving, jumping and punching the ball out of the box to keep his team in the game.
However, the offense was not able to get going, ending the Eagles’ season with a record of 10-6-3.
With the win, the Indians will move onto to play at Central Cambria Monday.
Juniata 2, Bald Eagle Area 0
(DISTRICT 6 CLASS AA QUARTERFINALS)
JUN – Jackson Shellenberger (unassisted), 38:30. JUN – Shellenberger (unassisted), 37:11.
Shots on goal: BEA 0, J 17. Corners: BEA 9, J 11. Saves: BEA 15 (Tanner Pearce). JUN 0 (Nolan Imes).