MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Sullivan County’s Chloe Burke (13) drives the ball down field in the first half.
The year begins as a clean slate for first-year Sullivan County coach Seth Stoner. The Griffins had a solid season last year and made it to the District 4 Class A quarterfinals. And while that loss was a bit lopsided, Stoner and his team are focused on 2021.
“The drive of our team’s mentality begins with a clean slate,” Stoner said.
Sullivan County will once again be looking to be near the top of the Mid-Penn standings come October. The team went 9-6 last year and 9-2 in the league, and while some players have graduated, there’s plenty of talent scattered throughout the roster.
A huge loss is Bethany Beinlich, who had 35 goals last year and tied with the most in the area and ended just three shy of reaching 100 for her career.
“Whenever you lose a player putting up a century of goals, it will inevitably become a hole that needs to be filled,” Stoner said. “The good news is we have talent and motivation to win games and remain competitive.”
SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO South Williamsport players wave to fans after a game last fall. The Mounties are looking to once again be competitive in not only the Mid-Penn, but also the district.
The Griffins do return Chloe Burke, a dangerous player up top who constantly can make things happen and score goals. She had 18 goals last season and sits at 64 for her career. And if defenders focus on Burke, it allows others to score.
“Chloe is a very talented player and a joy to coach. She has shown leadership in the team’s early sessions and a drive to out-do her previous achievements,” Stoner said. “Not to mention, she was the team’s co-leader in assists last year.”
Defenses will have to focus on trying to prevent Burke from getting into open space and near the 18.
The Griffins also have Lauren Minnier, Justice Cott, Cloe Immel and Karlee Wettlauffer as players Stoner sees being immediate impact players, among others.
Stoner knows his team’s capable of putting up goals — last year the Griffins scored 72 goals — but defensively, the team allowed 52. That’s an area Stoner wants to address.
MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Sullivan County’s Chloe Burke (13) and Muncy’s Avery Bigelow (20) chase down a lose ball in the first half.
“While last year showed great offensive output, the team also squandered too many goals,” Stoner said. “This year, we aim to solidify all thirds of the field.”
South Williamsport had its season end to eventual state champion Southern Columbia in the district semifinals, 2-0, to end its 2020 campaign at 13-4. The Mounties went 9-2 in the Mid-Penn last year and Lovecchio expects South Williamsport to again be near the top of the league.
“I think we’ll be competitive in the league. I think it’ll be a little harder when districts come, but it depends how much we improve. The girls came in really fit, which was a big plus. We’ve been doing a lot of running, even in the heat,” Lovecchio said. “We’re working on improving and they’re a really good group of kids. No attitude issues, which is always good. They are a really close-knit group which is always nice. They all want to improve. (I’m) hoping with steady improvement they can compete and maybe for the league championship.”
The Mounties return a lot of talented players. First-team league all-star Claudia Green is back as a defender. The team also returns Liv Casella, Piper Minier, Aleigha Reippel, Brooklyn Lentz, Jayden Bradley, Laila Shams and Charlotte Barckley, all of whom have experience.
Minier was tough to slow down. She led the Mounties with 15 goals and played aggressive and tough in the midfield. In goal, Shams was solid all year. She ended the season last year with an area-high seven shutouts — tied with Williamsport’s Adelia Engel.
The team has experience on the roster, but at the same time has a thin roster.
“We’re kind of thin. We couldn’t finish a lot last year,” Lovecchio said. “We were in a lot of games, but we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. So we’re working on that too. That’ll be nice if we can improve on that area.”
While Sullivan County and South Williamsport both reached the playoffs, Muncy went 5-8-1, and came up shy of getting there. But the team wants to be back in the postseason.
“We are excited about the upcoming season. The girls have worked hard over the offseason,” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “Our goals are always to get to nine wins and qualify for the playoffs.”
One strength for Muncy will be its cohesiveness, according to Gresh.
“The girls really get along and support one another. We lost three seniors from last year, but many of these girls have started at some point over the past two seasons,” Gresh said. “That provides some experience and depth. With COVID still looming, I think depth will be important again this season.”
Avery Bigelow returns this year, as does Mia Edkin. Bigelow had the second-most goals on Muncy last year with seven. Unfortunately the Indians lose their leading goal scorer in Lauren Anderson, who suffered an injury during the track season.
“Avery and Mia have put in a ton of work in the offseason. They are both returning first-team all-league players and they are going to continue to grow as players and leaders,” Gresh said. “I am excited to see who else steps up to take on that leadership role.”
Montgomery will have to replace goalie Abi Duck, who was a standout the past few seasons for the Red Raiders and kept Montgomery in numerous games.
SULLIVAN COUNTY
Coach: Seth Stoner
Assistants: Matt Muthler
League: Mid-Penn
Last year: 9-6 (9-2 Mid-Penn) (lost to East Juniata 11-1 in District 4 Class A quarterfinals)
Roster: Seniors: Chloe Burke, Kaelyn Wettlaufer, Madison Williams, Zoe Pedro, Lorena Marquadt. Juniors: Stella Harney, Ava Dunham, Mallory Dickinson. Sophomores: Justice Cott, Karlee Wettlaufer, Cloe Immel. Freshmen: Lauren Minnier, Holly Sperry, Summer Higley, Emma White, Olivia SPako.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT
Coach: Marc Lovecchio
Assistants: Jane House, Tracy Knoebel
League: Mid-Penn
Last year: 13-4 (9-2 Mid-Penn) (def. Meadowbrook Christian 1-0 in District 4 Class A quarterfinals; lost to Southern 2-0 in semifinals)
Roster: Seniors: Claudia Green, Olivia CAsella, Jaiden Bradley, Charlotte Brackley, Payden Mathieson, Laila Shams. Juniors: Piper Minier, Olivia Goode, Sofia Casella, McKaye Wilton, Julia Yeagle, Aleigha Rieppel, Brooklyn Lentz. Sophomores: Lillian Bradley, Brynn Knoebel, Lucy Binkley, Madison Breen, Lillian Barrett, Abby Akers, Olivia Regan, Olivia Loudenslager, Naomi Pfirman.
MUNCY
Coach: Jason Gresh
Assistants: Madalyn Burrows, Adrian Blewitt
League: Mid-Penn
Last year: 5-8-1 (5-5-1 Mid-Penn)
Roster: Seniors: Sarah Dgien, Hannah Dgien, Caitlin Renson, Lauren Anderson, Hailey Ohl, Zoe Yordy. Juniors: Kylee Jacobs, Avery Bigelow, Cierra Charles, Mia Edkin. Sophomores: Anna Selley, Nevaeh Matlak, JoJo Blewitt, Sophia Moyer, Emilie Nagel, Alecteyona Smith, Kaylnn Rice. Freshmen: Morgan Beaghley, Addisoon Gresh, Addison Eyer, Kenzie Haas.
MONTGOMERY
Coach: Greta Kriner
Assistants: Allison Ebner
League: Mid-Penn
Last year: 3-11-1
Roster: Marissa Rupert, Alexa Laluz, Sarah Turner, Natalie St. James, Cara Bossley, Erblinda Imeri, Madeline Bender, Angelica Schmidt, Linzy Bartlow, Rubi Solano, Emily Geiger, Olivia Walk, Leah Foresman, Madison Burleigh, Addi Muhl.
