South’s Aleigha Rieppel named Girls Soccer Player of the Year
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There was a rough patch to begin the season for the South Williamsport girls soccer team. The Mounties were trying to figure some things out in its first two games of the year to begin the Burke Tournament.
Unfortunately, it resulted with a lopsided 8-1 loss to Montoursville followed by a 7-4 loss to Wyoming Valley West.
But the Mounties learned from that and switched around some players in different positions. And one key switch was moving Aleigha Rieppel from up top back into a defensive mid position. To say it paid off would be an understatement.
With that switch in place, South Williamsport started clicking. The offense surged, the defense locked down and at the heart of it was Rieppel.
Rieppel's versatility and key to South's success overall was why she was named the 2022 Sun-Gazette Girls Soccer Player of the Year, becoming the first South Williamsport player to earn the honor since it became regularly awarded in 2010. She's also just the third player in a defender position to ever win the award, joining Lewisburg's Chloe Michaels (2018) and Warrior Run's Gabby Heiss (2016).
"That means the world to me simply because I didn't get all-state this year and that's been a goal of mine since I was a little girl," Rieppel said. "So being named Player of the Year, knowing I'm recognized for all the hard work I've put in, it just means the world."
Others considered for the honor were Muncy's Emilie Nagel, South Williamsport's Brooklyn Lentz, South Williamsport's Ella Moore and Montoursville's Lydia Earnest.
Rieppel helped control the midfield all year for the Mounties and was outstanding in doing so whenever she stepped onto the field. And Rieppel loved being in that role.
"We're obviously young and I have a good knowledge of game I'd like to say, so being able to be in middle and help them out, I like that," Rieppel said. "I like being able to help them out."
Rieppel helped honestly wherever she was on the field. If South Williamsport needed her to control the midfield, she did that. Oh yeah, and if South needed Rieppel to help the offense flourish, Rieppel had no problem dishing out some assists.
In fact, she had an area-high 25 this year as she always found her teammates in perfect position to score.
"I mean look at what happened when we moved her into the back. We made that change, solidified everything. … Aleigha is everything a coach could ever ask for," South Williamsport coach Marc Lovecchio said. "She's unselfish, she's a leader on the field, she's a leader off the field, she's got character, she's fast. It's a pleasure to have people like her to coach."
One key example of Rieppel's play came in the District 4 Class A championship game against Southern Columbia. Rieppel didn't have a goal or assist in that game, but her physical play helped throughout the game.
"She controls and what's interesting is we made the switch to kind of give us a little more confidence and that's what she does. Because of her talent, she cleans up everything," Lovecchio said. "Loren Gehret's an amazing player and Aleigha was there the whole time. And Brooklyn (Lentz marked Gehret). It was just tremendous."
Rieppel never complained where she was at on the field. Wherever Lovecchio saw her as the best piece to the puzzle, that's where Rieppel was more than happy to step up and contribute. Rieppel knew when she entered high school that she likely wouldn't be a player with a ton of goals, but she embraced that and stepped up in other ways.
"I just knew I needed to step up for my team and do whatever is best for them. I had individual goals up top, but if it's what's best for the team, I'm more than happy to go back (to other position)," Rieppel said. "It's just the vision thing again. I just want to put the ball in the right spots for them because I know we have people up top that can finish."
Rieppel had the ability to adapt to whatever situation she was in. If it was to help the offense excel, she was looking for her teammates constantly to find someone on a perfect breakaway for an assist. But if she needed to focus more defensively, Rieppel had no problem making that transition.
"I think being able to adapt is really mental. If you think about what you're going to do, think about what position is going to do, it's easily done," Rieppel said. "I have natural athletic ability, blessed with that, to be able to adapt. I'm just thankful for that I guess."
And South Williamsport no doubt was thankful for the talent Rieppel brought to the team.
COACHES OF THE YEAR
Marc Lovecchio, South
Williamsport and Cody Hack, Hughesville
The Mounties advanced to state semifinals for the first time in consecutive years in program history under Lovecchio in addition to winning their first District 4 championship since 2006. Lovecchio earned his 300th career victory as a coach. South Williamsport also won the team's first outright league title in 12 seasons.
Under Hack, the Spartans earned their first playoff victory since 2013 by blanking Troy, 6-0, and earned the most wins in a single season since an 18-win campaign in 2002. Hughesville finished 14-6 as Hack coached the Spartans to the District 4 Class AA semifinals in his first season as coach.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Terry Gerlinski, Lewisburg; Beckham Sibiski, Williamsport; Vic Gorini, Montoursville.
SUN-GAZETTE GIRLS SOCCER ALL-STARS
F--ELIZABETH SHULTZ, WILLIAMSPORT: Schultz played a big role for Williamsport up top in helping the offense flourish throughout the year. Shultz emerged early on as the Millionaires' go-to goal scorer with 13 goals and six assists, including three game-winners. Shultz also was a key component to opening the offense up for others and was a HAC-1 first-team all-star as a midfielder.
F--EMILIE NAGEL, MUNCY: The Indians scored 84 goals this year, and 34 of them were attributed to Nagel. The Muncy junior was outstanding offensively and received Mid-Penn first-team honors as a midfielder. She ended the season with 24 goals -- 10 more than any teammate -- and had 10 assists for a team-high 58 points.
F--MAKENZI LEITENBERGER, HUGHESVILLE: If you watched Hughesville play this year, you no doubt saw how much the team fired shots at opposing goals. And one player who wasn't afraid to take shots was Leitenberger. The Spartan junior had eight goals and five assists and was a constant threat as a forward. She was a second-team HAC-2 all-star.
F--PIPER MINIER, SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Minier was a physical player all year for the Mounties and helped the team excel offensively. She ended the year with 19 goals and 19 assists and was a key component in South reaching the state semifinals. She was also an all-state selection for South Williamsport, the program's first all-state player since Bella Green in 2018.
M--MCKAYE WILTON, SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Wilton was an honorable mention selection in the Mid-Penn and was a huge piece of the Mounties' success throughout the year. Wilton ended with 30 goals and was part of a three-headed scoring monster with teammates Ella Moore and Piper Minier, giving South Williamsport a ridiculous amount of offensive firepower up top.
M--LYDIA EARNEST, MONTOURSVILLE: Earnest was a key to Montoursville's success this year without question. Earnest was a big reason the Warriors reached the District 4 Class AA semifinals as she ended the year with 22 goals and five assists, constantly finding chances to score and helping create opportunities for her teammates. Earnest was a first-team HAC-1 all-star.
M--ELLA MOORE, SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Talk about a sensational freshman season to burst onto the season. Moore ended the year with 34 goals. Which, while impressive in itself, is even more impressive when you realize she not only was often marked and double teamed, but her 34 goals also set the school record for most goals scored by a freshman, breaking the mark of Lela Warner in 2015 (27).
M--MACKENZIE LOPEZ, MILTON: Lopez was an enormous piece of Milton's success this year from an offensive standpoint. She led the Black Panthers with an impressive 25 goals and had 11 assists, and every team the Black Panthers played knew they had to limit Lopez wherever she was on the field. She was a first-team HAC-2 all-star.
D--BROOKLYN LENTZ, SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Lentz is the type of player on defense that any team would love to have. Need to stop a tough player from scoring? Put Lentz on her and watch her shut them down. Lentz did that time and time again throughout the season and postseason and was a Mid-Penn all-star selection at defender.
D--NATALIE REEDER, MONTOURSVILLE: Montoursville allowed just nine goals this year -- six throughout 18 regular-season games -- and Reeder was a big key for the Warriors' defense being that rock solid. Reeder often got a lot of praise from her teammates and took pride in seeing a zero on the scoreboard from opponents. Reeder was a first-team HAC-1 defender this year.
D--MADDIE STILL, LEWISBURG: Like Reeder, Still helped Lewisburg's defense excel throughout the year. The Green Dragons sparked late when they needed. After starting the year 3-5, the Green Dragons won eight of their last nine to secure a playoff spot and, with the exception of a 6-0 loss to Central Columbia in the regular season during those final nine games, allowed just three goals in that span. Still helped solidify the back line and was a HAC-1 first-team defender.
D--PAYTON BRAGALONE, MONTOURSVILLE: Like Reeder, Bragalone was a huge piece of the Warriors' back line. Bragalone helped limit opposing forwards and midfielders from getting easy looks inside of the 18 every night and made things difficult for opposing teams. Bragalone was a HAC-1 second-team all-star selection.
GK--ALTHEA STREET, SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT: Street seemed to get better and better as the postseason went on and was outstanding in big games when it mattered. She was huge in the District 4 Class A championship and PIAA Class AA semifinals against Southern Columbia, both double overtime trillers. Street ended the year with 81 saves and 15 shutouts, five of which came in the playoffs.
GK--MO REINER, MILTON: Reiner was a wall in goal for the Black Panthers throughout the year and had cat-like reflexes when opponents tried to score against her. Her best game was the District 4 Class AA quarterfinal matchup against Montoursville in which she helped keep the Black Panthers in the game, resulting in it going to PKs. Reiner had 142 saves this year and ended with 392 for her career. She was a first-team HAC-2 all-star.
SECOND TEAM
F--Mia Edkin, Muncy
F--Sophia Clark, Hughesville
F--Sophie Kilbride, Lewisburg
F--Abby Akers, South Williamsport
M--Mia Clark, Williamsport
M--Alli Anstadt, Hughesville
M--Bryn Jacopetti, Montoursville
M--Sammy Roarty, Milton
D--Julia Yeagle, South Williamsport
D--Olivia Regan, South Williamsport
D--Natalie Bennett, Montoursville
D--Lilly Batman, Milton
GK--Kierstyn Dawes, Montoursville
HONORABLE MENTION
(in alphabetical order)
Anna Baylor, Montoursville, GK; Amara Bieber, Warrior Run; Rees Bierly, Jersey Shore; Avery Bigelow, Muncy, D; Caroline Blakeslee, Lewisburg; Kiley Bohart, Warrior Run; Rylie Boyce, Wellsboro, D; Laurel Boyer, Lewisburg, D; Maria Bozella, Lewisburg, M; Kara Brazier, Lewisburg, M; Maddy Breen, South Williamsport, M/F; Taylor Campbell, Central Mountain, M; Sophia Casella, South Williamsport; Emma Cline, Montoursville; Nylah Ford, Williamsport; Kate Fortin, Hughesville, D; Bailey Gavitt, Hughesville; Annie Gehman, Wellsboro, GK; Addi Gresh, Muncy, GK; Jaelynn Helmrich, Williamsport, F; Lily Hendricks, Central Mountain, F; Cloe Immel, Sullivan County, M; Miah Jones, Williamsport, D; Nyla Kutney, Montoursville, F; Halle Lodek, Central Mountain; Mikayla Long, Lewisburg, F; Raygan Lust, Warrior Run, M; Averi Maihle, Jersey Shore, M; Emma McCormick, Muncy; Lauren Minnier, Sullivan County; Madison Moll, Montoursville; Julia Monaco, Lewisburg; Addy Morrison, South Williamsport, M/F; Aliyah Neece, Jersey Shore; Carly Neidig, Milton; Jaclyn Nelson, N.P.-Mansfield, F/M; Gigi Parlante, Loyalsock; Tierney Patterson, N.P.-Mansfield, GK; Hailey Poust, Hughesville, D; Ryen Roush, Milton, F; Maggie Sheets, Warrior Run, M; Julia Smith, Central Mountain; Rubi Solano, Montgomery; Sarah Spring, Williamsport, GK; Ally Taggart, Hughesville, M/F; Kylie Temple, Hughesville; Lindsey Trapani, Warrior Run, D; Piper Wagner, Jersey Shore, D; Devon Walker, Jersey Shore, F; Alexis Whitehead, Loyalsock; Ella Wilson, Williamsport, F; Emma Wood, Montoursville; Maddie Zeiber, Milton