That’s how close the Red Raiders came to winning the program’s first-ever playoff game. But the players and coaches should be more than proud of what they were able to accomplish this year. Their season may be over, but the impact will be felt for a while.

When Hannah Lounsbury came into the program this past summer, she was inheriting a team that won just three games last year and a program that was struggling to get going in the right direction.

In her first year, Lounsbury used her own experience as a former player at Lycoming College to teach the Red Raiders what to look for on the field. Not just passing lanes or getting into formation up top or in the midfield, but the little things that may go unnoticed. And the players listened and it resulted in a 10-win season.

On Tuesday, Montgomery held a 1-0 lead thanks to Addi Grimm scoring a first-half goal, giving Montgomery a lead going into halftime. But Sullivan County proved to not go away quietly, and scored three second half goals from three players to take a 3-1 lead. The Red Raiders kept battling, as Grimm scored a goal with just under 6 minutes to play to make it a one-goal deficit, but the game-tying goal wasn’t able to be scored.

Amaya Grimm (18) of Montgomery and August Harney (9) of Sullivan County try to head the ball to team mates in Montgomery. Sullivan County won 3-2. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Those 10 wins match the amount of wins Montgomery had the past four seasons combined, and it’s the most wins in a single-season since a 15-5-1 season in 2006.

Montgomery fans have a lot to be happy about this year, and that quick turnaround is thanks to Lounsbury getting her players to believe in themselves and what she wanted to instill.

“I think any coach would love to be in my position right now going into next year,” Lounsbury said on Tuesday after falling to Sullivan County, 3-2, in districts. “I’m even excited for the junior high season getting the girls ready a couple years early.”

Getting younger players like that invested and excited for what is in store come varsity competition is beneficial as well. It’s a large part of what Michael Sherman did for the Montgomery boys program, getting them from a winless campaign in 2020 to a playoff berth in back-to-back seasons.

Lounsbury also only will have three players graduate this year in starting goalie Addi Muhl, Delilah Preitz and Emily Geiger. And while they’ll leave holes to fill in their various positions, it’s nice for Lounsbury and her staff knowing they don’t have to replace an entire starting lineup.

Amaya Grimm (18) of Montgomery and Paighton Durland (19) of Sullivan County try to gain control of the ball in Montgomery. Sullivan County won 3-2. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“I’m only losing three seniors, so I’m really lucky in that way,” Lounsbury said. “We can build off what we did next year. … We’ll make it to the playoffs and hopefully go even farther.”

It’s hard to turn around a program and culture, especially when there are numerous consecutive losing efforts. But Lounsbury has seemed to get Montgomery on the right path, and that’s something Red Raider fans should be more than excited about.

PREPARED FOR A

TOUGH OPPONENT

Sullivan County knew it’d be in for a tough game against Montgomery on Tuesday in the first round of the District 4 Class A playoffs. The Red Raiders and Sullivan split a pair of games in the regular season, with Sullivan County winning the first game, 4-3, before the Red Raiders won in overtime later in the season, 7-6.

Madelyn Dieffenderfer of Montgomery is called for an unsafe play foul on this play against Sullivan County in Montgomery. Sullivan County won 3-2. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

For the Griffins, however, the schedule doesn’t get any easier in the postseason.

After rallying to beat Montgomery, the Griffins now must face top-seeded South Williamsport, the defending two-time District 4 champions.

“I told the girls earlier this year we got creamed by South twice. They’re literally a team that’s been training all season for states,” Sullivan County coach Jody McCarty said. “They’re a great team. We’ve done a great job of keeping up our momentum this season, keeping things positive and we’re just going to go into that game with the same mentality.”

That quarterfinal matchup will be held on Saturday at Midd-West at noon. The Mounties won both regular-season matchups by a collective 19-2 score.

Jon Gerardi is the sports editor at the Sun-Gazette and covers high school soccer. He can be reached at jgerardi@sungazette.com. Email comments to jgerardi@sungazette.com.