PHOTO PROVIDED Montgomery’s boys soccer team features six sets of siblings in Owen and Dylan Sherman, Xavier and Quinton Bloodgood, Hunter and Aiden Twigg, Aidan Bitler and Andy Trautner, Justin Figard and Cameron Wilver, and Dylan and Cash Hill.

It’s far from uncommon for a soccer team to have a pair of brothers or sisters playing. Or even two sets of siblings together on the roster.

But six? That’s not exactly the norm, however that’s precisely what Montgomery’s boys soccer team and coach Michael Sherman have.

Sherman joked that he could field an entire starting 11 and have a sub player using just six households within Montgomery’s school district.

Those sets of siblings Owen and Dylan Sherman, Xavier and Quinton Bloodgood, Hunter and Aiden Twigg, Aidan Bitler and Andy Trautner, Justin Figard and Cameron Wilver, and Dylan and Cash Hill.

“I view it as a testament to the strength of our program given there are other fall sports options within the school district, however they are choosing soccer,” coach Sherman said. “As we are a relatively new program, it definitely helped us with sign-ups ensuring that we would be able to field a team each season.”

The sets of siblings are just about all two to three years apart. Owen Sherman is a senior and brother Dylan is a freshman. Xavier Bloodgood is a senior and brother Quinton is a freshman. Hunter Twigg is a senior and Aiden is a sophomore. Bitler is a senior and Trautner is a sophomore. Dylan Hill is a junior and Cash Hill is a freshman. The only siblings who aren’t in different grades are Figard and Wilver, who are both sophomores at Montgomery.

“(The age difference) has allowed the younger siblings to essentially follow in the footsteps of their older brothers. The success they will experience is a direct result of the challenges their older brothers were able to endure early in their high school playing career,” coach Sherman said.

The group of freshmen — which include Dylan Sherman, Quinton Bloodgood and Cash Hill — had an eight-win junior high season last year and picked up four wins this year through just eight games.

As a comparison, the seniors won two games their final junior high campaign and didn’t pick up their fourth win until their 34th career game.

“They definitely feed off one another and challenge each other to be better each day. It is neat to see that if one sibling is having a rough game, the other is there to pick them up and provide encouragement,” coach Sherman said. “The unique relationship between each set of brothers allows me to further enhance their player development through group discussion and communication.”

Sherman noted that he often hears his players discussing instructions with their siblings to ensure they understand everything. And for Sherman, it’s like having six volunteer coaches for drills.

“Sometimes coaching siblings can be difficult as not everyone is born with the same athletic ability,” coach Sherman said. “Not every brother gets in every match, which can lead to some interesting dinner conversations at home with their parents where ‘sibling rivalry’ is at its finest.”

While the six sets of siblings are literal family, Sherman sees his team as one large family together be it at practice, off the field or during games.

“The way the boys have bonded this season proves that no matter their last name, they are truly a band of brothers. I am not just referring to the 12 that share DNA with a counterpart on the team. I am referring to the entire roster of 27 young men that are forming a special bond, one game at a time,” coach Sherman said. “Their ultimate goal this season is to secure the school’s first playoff bid in recent memory.”

After a 2-16 campaign in 2015, Montgomery’s varsity program shut down. And, for the next four years, the Red Raiders didn’t field a varsity team.

Sherman then came along and helped get the program started back up in 2020. It’s been a long road, but the Red Raiders are slowly yet surely getting to where they want to be, and that’s being a competitive team.

The first few years after reinstating the program were rough, but the Red Raiders are 7-5 currently and the six wins are the most since getting the program back in 2020.

Another win would match the most wins since 2014 when the Red Raiders went 7-12 and lost to Sayre in the playoffs.

Before the season began, the players ran a mile for every loss the program experienced since reinstatement in 2020. That number was 42.

And while the younger siblings didn’t experience those losses by their older brothers, they nonetheless ran those miles as a reminder without hesitation.

“To me, being willing to accept and take responsibility for those that have come before them is a true sign of a healthy family,” coach Sherman said. “The boys are making memories each match and I feel that when they look back on this time 20 years from now, they will never forget the time spent with their brothers.”

CONTINUING A LEGACY

South Williamsport sophomore Ella Moore had a hat trick last week in a win against Montgomery to put her in the 50-goal club. Last season, Moore led the area with an impressive 34 goals as a freshman, and broke the South Williamsport record for most goals scored by a freshman by seven.

She surpassed Lela Warner’s mark of 27 in 2015, after she beat South great Christa Matlack’s mark in the early 2000s.

But while Moore became a 50-goal scorer, she also became one of the last in the club who has donned the blue and white of South Williamsport.

The South sophomore is the fifth Mountie in the last six years to record 50 career goals, which is a testament to the talent that walks through South Williamsport’s hallways.

Moore got the milestone this year and McKaye Wilton recorded the goal last year. In 2021, it was South Williamsport’s Piper Minier who reached the 50-goal mark.

In 2019, South Williamsport’s Haley Neidig reached the 50-goal milestone and in 2018, it was Warner who did so.

“It makes coaching easier, I’ll tell you that,” South Williamsport coach Marc Lovecchio said of the string of 50-goal scorers at South.

While there’s plenty of talented players, the 50-goal milestone also helps cement younger player’s goals who want to achieve what others have done.

“It creates a great legacy for other girls to come up because they want to reach that milestone. I think it’s important. Ella’s very young to get to 50, but it does, it creates a legacy but it also inspires other girls and it’s a milestone that a lot of girls now want to reach,” Lovecchio said. “It’s important to play better and better and practice better, but it certainly helps. The trick to soccer is putting the ball in the back of the net.”

For Moore, she was happy to not only reach that milestone, but be in elite company with some of South’s all-time best players.

“It’s a great accomplishment to be honored with all those other South Williamsport players who have achieved the same goal,” Moore said.

And, like coach Lovecchio noted, Moore agrees it helps set a mark for younger players who look up to captains on the team and those who set records.

“I think a lot of people look up to other people on our team and we do want to be role models for the younger girls, so we just want the best for everyone,” Moore said.

“I just think a lot of talented players come out of South Williamsport and it’s really just our community help us get there,” Moore added. “They’re so supportive and we’re just a great community that helps everyone work hard.”

SISTER ACT

If you look at the top scorers at Muncy, you’ll see just two last names represented: Eyer and Nagel. And no, it isn’t just one player with each name. It’s a set of sisters who are lighting up the offense.

Addi Eyer leads Muncy with 16 goals scored and has dished out four assists and sister Ava Eyer, a freshman, has recorded eight goals and eight assists.

Senior Emilie Nagel has eight goals and 17 assists — and recently recorded her 50th career assist — and her little sister Ella Nagel has six goals and five assists.

For those who don’t want to do the quick math, that’s 38 goals and 34 assists between the siblings. Not a bad offensive foursome to have.

“Having them, they lead, they connect, they all get along. The girls this year all get along,” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “There’s no jealousy factor that they’re ones doing it because the defense feeds the offense.”

Emilie Nagel simply smiled and nodded yes when asked if she always knows where her sister is on the field at any given time. It’s like a silent bond the duo share, and one likely the Eyers also share having grown up together and playing soccer.

“I love playing with my sister because we have a special connection and know what to do when we’re with each other passing around,” Emilie Nagel said. “She’s hurt right now, but once we get her 100%, it’s going to be like passing and passing and with Eyer sisters too.”

The four work great with one another on the field and truly put opposing defenses in a pick-your-poison type of situation.

Mark Emilie Nagel? No problem, Ella can get open. Double team Addi Eyer to contain her? Sure, Ava will find space.

“They both work really well together, and me and Ella have been playing for a long long time. Us four together, we can just connect passes and we talk to each other really well and we have a special connection at practice too and on the field too,” Emilie Nagel said.

And that special connection makes it tough to slow Muncy down offensively.

GETTING OVERSHADOWED

As noted above, Muncy’s offense is outstanding. The Indians are 7-3-1 and have scored 54 goals so far this year, which is a large reason they’re second in the Mid-Penn currently with a 4-1-1 mark.

But while that offense — led by the Nagels and Eyers — is putting up big numbers, the defense is getting overshadowed.

But the defense is just as good as the offense, if not better perhaps. Muncy’s back line and Addi Gresh in goal have yielded just 12 goals all season through 11 games.

Just four teams have recorded multiple goals on Muncy: Troy, Millville, Meadowbrook Christian and the Mounties this past Saturday.

“Our defense talks really good to each other and they’re always working together,” Emilie Nagel said. “They always help us out and tell us what we need to do. When we can get them up to attack, it helps us a lot.”

“Our defense is as sound as anybody’s in the area in far as my opinion,” Gresh noted. “They’re frustrated (after Saturday’s loss) and they take a lot of pride in a shutout. Addi is what she is, but the defense is that good and makes Addi’s job a lot easier.”

The Indians are coming off a brutal week in which they went 0-2-1. Muncy tied Benton in double overtime, lost to Meadowbrook in a tight, physical contest, 2-1, before dropping a 2-0 game to a solid South Williamsport team that’s clicking at the right time.

While no one enjoys losing, for Muncy it’s beneficial in helping the team get ready for the postseason and knowing the tough competition that will be waiting the Indians in districts.

“We needed it. I said that all the time sometimes a loss is as good motivationally as a win. If we just cruise through this week, then your heads get a little big,” Gresh said. “Now we got that in back of our minds, we have to get better, we have to do some things, we have to make some adjustments and they will. I’m confident in them.”

Jon Gerardi is the sports editor at the Sun-Gazette and covers high school soccer. Email comments to jgerardi@sungazette.com and follow him on Twitter at @JonGerardi.

JON GERARDI’S TOP 5 RANKINGS

BOYS SOCCER

1. MILTON (12-2): Talk about making a statement. I mentioned last week that Wednesday’s Milton/Lewisburg game would easily be a Game of the Week candidate, and it lived up to that. Trailing 2-1, Milton rallied to score twice in the final 16 minutes to beat the Green Dragons.

2. LEWISBURG (8-3): Lewisburg suffered two losses in the past week, first to Milton, who overcame a 2-1 deficit to win, and then fell to State College, 4-0. The Green Dragons beat Crestwood on Saturday, 1-0.

3. MONTOURSVILLE (8-2-1): The Warriors battled Warrior Run tough in a 1-1 double overtime draw on the road last week before cruising past Northeast Bradford, 5-0. The Warriors are a win shy of matching their win total each of the last two seasons. Three more victories will give the Warriors their most win since a 13-6 season in 2013.

4. WELLSBORO (9-2-1): The Green Hornets clinched a playoff spot by defeating Towanda on Thursday. Wellsboro had a big match Monday against Williamson in a contest between the NTL’s top two teams, but it ended in a scoreless draw after 100 minutes of play.

5. SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT (7-5-1): The Mounties’ Logan Harris came through in the 60th minute with the lone goal in a big 1-0 win over a talented Warrior Run team. Warrior Run’s Braego Cieslukowski is one of the district’s best goalies, so slipping one past him is no easy feat.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Wellsboro’s Mitchell Butler: Give Butler a lot of credit, he’s played outstanding the past few games in goal for the Green Hornets and is a huge reason Wellsboro’s prevented four straight opponents from scoring. That included stopping six shots against a tough Williamson team in a scoreless double-overtime game on Monday.

GIRLS SOCCER

1. MONTOURSVILLE (11-1): Montoursville year in and year out has prided itself on solid defense and this year is so exception. In Montoursville’s last nine games, they have allowed just one goal. The Warriors have the area’s best defense and makes teams work hard to get a few shots off.

2. MILTON (8-1): The Black Panthers had a great win on Thursday by blanking a very tough Warrior Run team, 1-0. Milton lost a few talented players to graduation, but the Black Panthers are just as solid this year.

3. HUGHESVILLE (10-1): The Spartans are playoff bound for the third straight season. It’s the first time Hughesville’s made three consecutive playoff appearances since 2012-15. The Spartans are playing well all around, from their fire power up top to a stellar back line and goalie.

4. WARRIOR RUN (10-3): The Defenders are averaging nearly five goals per game this year and defenses know they can’t give Warrior Run easy looks at the goal. The Defenders have a pair of players with 14 or more goals in sophomore Katie Zaktansky (14 goals, nine assists) and junior Raygan Lust (16 goals, 11 assists).

5. MUNCY (7-3-1): Muncy went 0-2-1 this past week, but consider that the Indians had a fairly tough schedule in that run, including games against Troy, Northeast Bradford and South Williamsport, all of whom Muncy battled tough. Expect that brutal schedule to pay dividends.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Montoursville’s back line: As noted above, the Warriors’ defense is absolutely outstanding. The Warriors yielded just one goal in their four games this past week while posting three shutouts. Teams don’t get many chances against the Warriors.