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When last year's women's soccer season got called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic at Lycoming, Ian Scheller found himself missing being a coach. Scheller coached two seasons ago at Loyalsock before he stepped down to focus on being an assistant at Lycoming.
When the coaching position opened up at Loyalsock, Scheller jumped on it.
"I sat down with Kenny Fern, the head coach at Lycoming, and we drew up potential practice schedules that day, saw it was possible and the rest is history now," Scheller said. "I am incredibly grateful for his flexibility in my role with the college, to Loyalsock Township School District and the players for welcoming me back with open arms."
The Lancers are coming off a 7-8-3 season in which they fell to Wellsboro, 3-1, in the District 4 Class AA quarterbacks and Scheller expects to keep Loyalsock competing and in games. And it starts with small goals, working up to a bigger picture.
"Expectations for us this season are simple: we are looking for stability. After a few years where we were able to have some success, we want to work hard and maintain our place as a consistent district qualifying team," Scheller said.
A theme for Scheller's Lancers is goal setting. He starts with a first victory, winning record at home, winning record in conference, .500 or better record overall and then, Scheller says, the team can set its sights toward more lofty goals.
"Rather than only look at the wins, losses and pushing for a run in districts, this allows us to maintain focus in the short term," Scheller said. "Eah game means something, each game is a step toward achieving a goal."
Loyalsock had a solid core, and while some don't have experience at the varsity level, Scheller noticed the work they put in during the offseason.
The Lancers bring back seniors Matt O'Malley, Conner Sullivan, Andrew REed and BRayden Gardner and also have Tyler Wescott and Gabe Severn, two juniors who put in a solid offseason.
"(They) are expected to be strong assets for the team this season," Scheller said.
Scheller also expects Loyalsock to once again have a very strong defensive unit to slow down teams.
"Defending is an important part of how we hope to play. We have lost some heavy hitters from our back line over the past few seasons, but I believe we have guys who can do a job for us, whether that be versatily players like Lucas Pearson, Andres Quintana or Andrew Reed, who can play in defensive midfield or across the back line, or players like Jackson Shangraw and Jackson Ellis, who play their role in our system very well, and out hard work in all summer to show they're players more than capable of contributing to the team."
Another team in the HAC-II that is looking to duplicate last year's success is Milton. The Black Panthers had one of the program's best starts in history when they began the year 10-1. Milton ultimately fell in districts to perennial powerhouse Midd-West, 8-0, in the quarterfinals.
"We definitely believe that we have a very solid team again this season and hope to build on and surpass the success of the past two seasons," Milton coach Eric Yoder said. "Soccer is a crazy game and there are so many uncontrollables throughout any season, so we are not taking anything for granted."
Milton brings back nine starters, including seniors Carter Lilley, Conner Smith, Austin Gainer, Trent Strous and Brodey Scoggins. Also back is first-team all-star Seth Yoder, and sophomores Dom Ballo, Evan Yoder and Ethan Hamilton, a trio coach Yoder expects to step up.
The loss to Midd-West in the postseason stung for Milton after such a great regular season -- going 12-4 -- and the Black Panthers hope that they can use it as motivation.
"That game was a very disappointing and painful end to an otherwise good season for us. We struggled with COVID issues and keeping players health after our very strong start, and that hurt us a bit in the seeding for playoffs," Yoder said. "That game definitely provided some offseason motivation, but we have moved on and are ready to start from scratch."
Last year was a bit of a rebuilding season for Hughesville after the Spartans went 5-13 and missed playoffs after making it four consecutive seasons prior to that. While that left the team a bit disappointed, the Spartans are looking to get back. That starts with a solid freshmen class.
"We have a lot of freshmen coming in this year, but they have talent and will be pushing the older players for starting spots. That should make us a more competitive team overall and lead to more victories," Hughesville coach Jim Dennis said. "A return to districts would be a great experience for those younger players and help them in years to come."
Hughesville brings back midfielder Eli Edkin and also senior Nick Trevouledes. For Trevouledes, he's hoping to become the program's all-time leading scorer.
"He will have his work cut out for himself as he is 30 behind that mark, but a great senior year could see that number come into reach," Dennis said.
Dennis sees freshman Quynn Hartman stepping into a defensive role. The team also has to replace its goalie, but a good competition is going for the spot between three freshmen and a junior.
Hughesville has a 31-man roster, with nearly half being freshmen. And while the team's young, Dennis sees that as a good thing.
"Even though we are very young overall we have some good experience mixed in and think we will be a very competitive team and we have high hopes for a winning season and a trip to districts," Dennis said.
Montoursville will look to improve in the win column this year after a 4-12-1 campaign in 2020 and the depth the Warriors have should be beneficial.
"We feel that we have more depth in several of the key positions on the field. We have a group of players that have been working together for a long time as they come up through the club system," Montoursville coach Bryan Pauling said. "Having more depth and adding a group that has worked together should translate into more wins."
Among those back for Montoursville are Dominick Pulizzi, Brayden McKibben, Cooper Shirk, Mason Winslow, Mathias Albert and Wyatt Fry.
"We are looking to be more consistent and expect to secure more wins this season," Pauling said. "We have had several years in a row with very few wins, and we are hoping to change that this year."
Warrior Run finished 15-4 last year, beating South in a rout in the playoffs before falling to eventual state champion Lewisburg, 6-1, in the semifinals.
The Defenders averaged just over 4 goals per game last year and had a potent offense.While Alex Hazzoum and Kaden Majcher both graduated -- a duo which combined for 38 goals -- the team does have back Alex Brown (15 goals) and Luke Mattox (6).
MILTON
Coach: Eric Yoder
Assistants: Brett Ballo, Richard Lincoln
League: HAC-II
Last year: 12-5 (8-2 HAC-II) (lost to Midd-West 8-0 in District 4 Class AA quarterfinals)
Roster: Seniors: Conner Smith, Austin Gainer, Cadyn Bittner, Trent Strous, Lucas Radke, Brodey Scoggins, Ethan Wilkins, Carter Lilley. Juniors: Seth Yoder, Trace Witter, Ephraim Langdon. Sophomores: Tyler Stokes, Dominic Ballo, Evan Yoder, Rafael Martinez, Ethan Rhodes, Ethan Hamilton, Xavier Godown. Freshmen: Jonah Strobel, Wyatt Brouse, Preston Reedy, Joel Langdon, Kaleb Eger, Tristan Engle, Aaron Treibley,
WARRIOR RUN
Coach: Troy Emmert
Assistants: (not available)
League: HAC-II
Last year: 15-4 (6-0 HAC-II) (def. South Williamsport 10-2 in District 4 Class AA quarterfinals; lost to Lewisburg 6-1 in semifinals)
Roster: Seniors: Brandon Emmert, Nathan McCormack, Luke Mattox, Tanner Confair, Jacob Yoder. Juniors: Alex Brown, Tanner Polcyn, Gavin Hormell, Ryan Mattox, Carter Temple, Nathan Axtman, Cody Goodspeed, Penn Patten, Joe Petrin, Ben Potter. Sophomores; Gavin Sanner, Sean Brown, Judah Kennel, Zach Day. Freshmen: Jared Sivers, Cooper Wilkins, Donovan Figueroa, Brayden Warner, Ian Sanner, Tommy Reinitz, Mike Kemock, Tristan Witmer, Troy Emmert, Jim McCormack, Tim Lust, Brian Hunter, Chris Miller, Tim Higgins.
LOYALSOCK
Coach: Ian Scheller
Assistants: Pat Slattery, Brian Bustin, Todd Lassen
League: HAC-II
Last year: 7-8-3 (4-2-1 HAC-II) (lost to Wellsboro 3-1 in District 4 Class AA quarterfinals)
Roster: Seniors: Andres Quintana, Andrew Reed, Matt O'Malley, Jackson Ellis, Jackson Shangraw, Brayden Gardner, Ben Grieco, Conner Sullivan, Alex Alvarado, Caleb Shimko,. Juniors: Lucas Pearson, Brandon Burger, Gabe Severn, Tyler Wescott, Beckett Gilmour, Carter Horning, Isaiah Rogers. Sophomores: Ryan Cao, Bryant Sullivan, Hunter Whitmoyer, Zach Wagner-Pizza, John Cooley, Chris Cooley, Ethan Dougherty, Ryan Taylor, Dom HOrning, MIchael mcLaughlin. Freshmen: Jackson Alvarado, Evan Anderson, Gavin Grieco, Colby Peters, Brycen Savoy, Jacob Edmonds, Alex Wagner-Pizza.
HUGHESVILLE
Coach: Jim Dennis
Assistants: Peter Larsen, Steven Millheim
League: HAC-II
Last year: 5-13 (2-6 HAC-II)
Roster: Seniors: Zachary Jackson, James Kerschner, Maddox Leitenberger, Aaron Girardi, Eli Edkin, Nick Trevouledes. Juniors: Josh Heiney, Matthew McClain, Jackson Jordan, Austin Kappas, Ethan Woolcock. Sophomores: Tanner Bunce, Michael Finnegan, Jeffrey Fenstermacher, Aidan McGinley. Freshmen: Caleb Watson, Keagan Smith, Brett Whitmoyer, Scott Johnson, Jacob McKenzie, Nathan McClain, Paul Ragan, James Stephens, Josh Stubbs, Jonah McGinley, Quyann Hartman, Owen Wettlaufer, Elijah Resto, Jarrett Easton, Aiden Kerschner.
MONTOURSVILLE
Coach: Bryan Pauling
Assistants: Ed Winslow, Jason Hawley, Anthony Frey, Bradley Fisher, Caleb McCombie, Seth Fry
League: HAC-II
Last year: 4-12-1 (3-6-1 HAC-II)
Roster: Seniors: Alex Houghtaling, Brayden McKibben, Cooper Shirk, Dominick Pulizzi, Liam Winder. Juniors: Aidan Cohen, Eli Lucas, Jeremiah Sulouff, Mason Lauchle, Mason Winslow, Mattias Albert, Tyler Baker. Sophomore: Caymamn Daugherty, Dylan Muise, Gavin Cott, Jacob Bear, Josh Wentzler, Quentin Deters, Ryan Matlack, Sean Ravert, Wyatt Fry. Freshmen: Brayden McCourt, Cody Kohler, Gavin Hawley, Hunter Hepler, Johnathan Phillips, Mason Morrow, Sean Fry, Shaw Simpson.