Sarah Luprek sees it every practice and game her Bulldogs compete in. Jersey Shore is 2-7 this year, but that doesn’t reflect the competitiveness and motivation Luprek and her players have this season.

This marks Luprek’s third season coaching the Bulldogs, but there’s been improvement. The first year, Luprek’s Bulldogs finished 0-18. Last year, they won three games. They’re already on their way to matching last year’s win total and, if the team has their way, surpassing that.

Any progress is good progress, and steps in the right direction even if they’re little steps.

“We’re a young team. This is only my third season with the girls and it’s been a lot of restructuring, rebuilding. Mainly focusing on that culture shift which we talked about a few times already. Jersey Shore program, we haven’t had winning season (in awhile), so I have a lot of high hopes for this younger crew,” Luprek said. “Majority of my starters are freshmen and sophomores, so a lot of young talent coming up that we can build and grow with. We have a lot of great senior leadership like Rees (Bierly), Autumn (Buttoroff) out there as a center back, to kind of help build and grow this program for us from the ground up.”

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette The Jersey Shore girls soccer team huddles up before a road game against Central Mountain at Malinak Stadium earlier this season. Shore won 3-0.

Jersey Shore opened this year with a 3-1 win against Montgomery, but a string of seven losses followed. But the Bulldogs played well in some of those games.

There was just a three-goal loss at State College, followed by a tough 1-0 loss at Loyalsock. Jersey Shore then came up just shy against Sullivan County at home, 2-1, and suffered a 2-0 loss to Mifflinburg.

Those losses showed Luprek and Bulldog fans that Jersey Shore can compete with teams. And last week, that seven-game losing streak finally came to an end with a 3-0 win at Central Mountain to give Jersey Shore a spark.

“Most of our games we are playing a defensive game. We’re playing defense majority so kind of that shift in attack for us, it’s a new concept for us and something new we’re trying to learn how to do and how to do well,” Luprek said. “I’m hoping these next (few) games these girls will have some opportunities to string it together, look for those opportunities, see what it looks like out on the field and build with that.”

One thing Luprek has noticed is that Jersey Shore is buying in to what she’s trying to accomplish, and that’s changing the culture around. It’s tough to change things after a few losing seasons. Winning can be contagious, but so can losing unfortunately.

TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Jersey Shore’s Rees Bierly (16) battles Central Mountain’s Leah Karstetter (3) for possession during a girls soccer game earlier this season.

“I think there’s definitely more of a positive mentality shift. I mean even in the offseason you see these girls looking for opportunities for growth, looking for opportunities to be better as individuals and also as a team,” Luprek said. “A little bit more of that unity in their will, ant and drive.”

The Bulldogs haven’t seen the playoffs since the mid-2000s, but Luprek is hoping that in the near future, that changes for Jersey Shore.

“These girls are a really good group of girls this year. I’m looking forward to growing the program with them and try to build it up,” Luprek said.

SOLID OFFENSIVE DUO

Montgomery coach Michael Sherman is more than glad that the Red Raiders have not one, but two outstanding weapons up top who can score and feed off of one another. Montgomery has scored 18 goals this year, and majority of those have come off the feet of Dylan Sherman and Camden Dalrymple, with Sherman having scored a team-high eight so far this year.

The key to that success is the travel ball they play during the offseason as well.

“They both play travel ball outside of the season. One for STN and one for NU (North Union United), and that gives them the opportunity to play with some other players. I think the soccer smarts shine through when they play together because they know the runs to make, how to play the ball off of each other and how to complement each other,” coach Sherman said. “Throughout the years we’ve been a little one-dimensional up top, now that we have a couple people that can put the ball in the back of the net, it makes us a little tougher to mark.”

And with those two drawing defenses on them and often being double marked, it allows Sherman to use other players to get valuable varsity experience as well, and get them involved into a solid offense.

“We’re using like sophomores as outside midfielders, so they’re getting a lot of experience and we’re seeing the runs being made so that is going to help for years to come,” coach Sherman said. “Glad we can get them in the game because next year or so, they’re going to be the ones up there. So we have kind of a feeder program with our younger players to keep up on the outside.”

Montgomery also has Porter Hall playing this year, the first time he’s played soccer since he was 6 years old. The senior midfielder was looking at playing football, but came out to help the boys soccer team.

Sherman was quick to give Hall credit after a win at South Williamsport this year.

“He was the one at the end of the game that was making things happen. He was running down the balls and by him running down the ball, it freed up Dylan and took some of the pressure off Dylan and he was able to get the ball to his feet and get into open space and used his speed pretty well tonight to get by them (defenders),” Sherman said. “That’s all because Porter opened things up for him.”

GAINING CONFIDENCE, PLAYING WELL

Loyalsock’s Ava Deknecht got experience in goal last year as a freshman and had to play against some talented teams within the HAC. This year, as a sophomore, Deknecht stepped back into goal as the preseason starter and has been playing well.

The Lancers may not have a winning record, but Deknecht does everything she can to keep the Lancers in games.

That was evident in a 3-2 thrilling win against Montoursville where Deknect had nine saves against a talented Montoursville team, including a huge save in the second half where she dove to block a shot by standout Kenna Bennett to keep it a one-goal lead and not shift momentum.

“Ava was getting there. She’s still young, she’s still got quite a bit to learn but she’s getting there and she’s getting better,” Loyalsock coach Mark Pysher said.

One of Deknecht’s best showings this year came in a tough 6-0 loss to Hughesville. While the score obviously didn’t indicate a close game, consider that Deknecht made 17 saves against a Spartan team that fires shots almost as quickly as a Sabrina Carpenter song gets stuck in your head.

“She still has times when she’s a little anxious and hesitant to come out, and I think when she starts to do that a little more and her teammates encourage her to do that a little more, she’ll get that confidence to keep building a little more,” Pysher said. “And it’ll keep going from there.”

ANOTHER SOLID CAMPAIGN

Entering Tuesday, Central Mountain had a 6-4-2 record and the Wildcats have been playing well against talented teams. And the players have to be happy with how the team’s doing given they only won seven games last year and already on their way to surpass that number.

Central Mountain has won at least six games each of the last four seasons, and that’ll be five in a row after this year.

So, what exactly has been the biggest part for this team’s success? Coach Billy Hook noted a few things being key.

“Our back line’s playing very well. We’re giving up some goals in games, but I really like what they’re doing,” Hook said. “Midfield, they’re working. We’re trying to clean some stuff up there just to get a little bit more out of them. And our attack guys are finally making the runs and taking chances. So, I really like where our head’s at.”

The Wildcats have four shutouts this year, have held three teams to just one goal and twice have posted ties. The Wildcats also held off Northumberland Christian for an exciting 3-2 overtime win this year.

“I have no doubt in the heart and the work they’ll put in. I just wish we’d stop going down a goal and have to fight back,” Hook said. “We did it twice this week (against Selinsgrove and Williamsport), but I love that we fight back. Four games in a row we’ve gone down and come back and gotten two ties out of it.

“So I love our heart. We’re a great team, great kids. We just need to clean up some things, but they’re doing all the right things. It’s just capitalizing,” Hook continued.

The Wildcats have a number of players who can score as well, such as Dylan Bechdel (six goals), Tim Brinker (four goals, five assists) and Griffin Confer (three goals, six assists). And in goal, Jaggar Pardoe has 58 saves this year and does well keeping Central Mountain in every game they play.

BUMPY ROAD

Williamsport’s boys and girls soccer teams have had a bit of a rough season this year. The Williamsport boys entered Tuesday with a 3-5-1 record while the girls are 2-6-1.

Yes, the teams both would have liked to have a lot more wins, but those records aren’t because there isn’t talent on the team. No, the teams both have playmakers.

Rather, it’s a combination of having a few key players hurt and a tough schedule the boys and girls both play.

On the boys side, Williamsport had tough games against Milton, Shikellamy, Abington Heights, Warrior Run and State College. Not to mention an upcoming schedule that sees the Millionaires playing teams the likes of Midd-West, Lewisburg and Selinsgrove among others.

“We can play with any team. We were 2-1 with State College and then just a couple small things happen and that game got out of hand,” Williamsport boys coach Brett Hofstrom said. “We can play with them. We can play with Abington Heights, but we just need to find ways to be consistent. We just have to get healthy so that we can compete and show what we can do.”

It doesn’t help either that Williamsport is battling through a handful of injuries this year and trying to find pieces to plug into the lineup.

“It’s tough to rotate. You’re trying to rotate and trying to keep the ball like we do,” Williamsport boys coach Brett Hofstrom said. “We’re trying to possess the ball and so forth, but people are getting experience. It’s next man up and they’re showing what they can do with future roles.”

The Williamsport girls had a tough schedule to begin with, having to play Warrior Run, Hughesville and Central Columbia in three of their first five games, all playoff standouts from 2024.

“It’s definitely been tough. If you look at the teams that we lost to, their records aren’t bad. They’re very good teams and that’s something we take pride in here is the competitive schedule that we play,” Williamsport girls coach Beckham Sibiski said. “There’s positive takeaways from each of those games: focusing on defending, focusing on watching the film to see what we did wrong and what we can fix.”

And, like their boys counterparts, Williamsport knows it needs to get healthy to be at full strength. The Millionaires were without standout Deborah Shultz and Addisyn Zangara, two varsity four-year starters who had plenty of experience and leadership, for a few games.

JON GERARDI’S TOP 5 RANKINGS

BOYS SOCCER

t-1. LEWISBURG (10-0-1): The Green Dragons played their first game this season in which they were out-shot by an opponent, but credit Lewisburg’s back line and keeper Gabe Pawling. They played well, didn’t let Abington Heights slip a goal past them on Saturday and walked away with a hard-fought 1-0 win. Lewisburg is used to playing and winning low-scoring, one-goal games, and Saturday was just the latest example. On Monday, Lewisburg showed its offensive prowess, however, by scoring five against Hughesville.

t-1. MONTOURSVILLE (10-0): The Warriors’ 10-0 start is the best start in program history at Montoursville, which says something given some of the talented teams the program has had in its long past. Montoursville is firing well on all cylinders. The offense is putting up goals from a number of players, the defense is holding teams’ shots low and in goal, Mason Fry is playing great and not letting teams get anything by him. Add it all together, and it equates to Montoursville being a hard team to beat.

3. WELLSBORO (8-3): Wellsboro’s four-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday at the hands of Hughesville, 2-0. The Spartans were just the fourth team to score two goals against the Green Hornets so far this season. Wellsboro gets back to its NTL schedule this week with five games against NTL foes. Expect Todd Fitch and the Green Hornets to be focused and getting back to the winning side of things.

4. MONTGOMERY (6-4): Montgomery moved to 6-4 thanks to a 6-1 rout against Towanda in which standout Dylan Sherman scored four goals and the team played well all around. Montgomery led 3-0 after 15 minutes, 30 seconds in the game. Montgomery has playmakers and the Red Raiders have shown this year they can compete with many teams.

t-5. N.P.-LIBERTY (6-6-1): After tying Athens in a scoreless double overtime draw on Sept. 11, the Mounties have gone 2-2 in that span with wins vs. Northeast Bradford and Muncy (2-1, 2 OT) and losses to Williamson, 2-1, and Jersey Shore, 1-0. One thing you’ll notice with those scores is Liberty keeps games close. After a 3-0 loss to Wellsboro and 4-0 loss to Montoursville in back-to-back games earlier this month, Liberty is playing tighter on defense and staying in games until the end and has allowed just five goals in its last five games.

t-5. HUGHESVILLE (6-5): Hughesville lost to Lewisburg, 5-0, but give the Spartans credit. Hughesville was tied 0-0 after 40 minutes against Lewisburg. Not a lot of teams can hang with Lewisburg for a half, but the Spartans did just that under first-year coach Cole Lesher. The Green Dragons turned it on in the second half for five goals, but that first half playing solid against the defending District 4 Class AA champions — and perennial district and state power — is something that will give Hughesville players some confidence going forward.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Viktor Permyashkin, Lewisburg and Orrie Godown, Milton: Permyashkin was named the Sun-Gazette Preseason Player of the Year this season and the Green Dragon showed just why this past week. Perymashkin came up with two key goals in a 3-0 win against Selinsgrove before he scored the game’s only goal to lift Lewisburg past Abington Heights in an extremely close game, 1-0. Godown came up clutch against Williamsport last week in a double overtime exciting contest. He scored Milton’s lone goal in regulation and then, in double overtime, came up with a game-winner that sealed it for the Black Panthers.

GIRLS SOCCER

1. MUNCY (9-1): Muncy beat CMVT in a rout on Saturday, 15-0, to clinch a District 4 Class A playoff berth. The Indians are the only area girls soccer team that can say they’re undefeated this year, which says a lot given some of the talented teams in our area. Muncy suffered defeat for the first time against a very talented Southern Columbia team, 7-2. No one likes to lose, but there’s no doubt that loss left a bad taste in Muncy’s mouths and the Indians want to refocus on winning. Sometimes a loss can be beneficial as well and help your team get back to Earth after riding high for a bit. Muncy coach Jason Gresh is an outstanding coach be it in soccer or basketball, so expect the Indians to be focused and back to earning wins.

2. WARRIOR RUN (10-1-1): The Defenders are a superb team this year. The offense can seemingly put in goals at will (48 and counting) and from a defensive perspective, only eight balls have found the back of the net in 11 games. The Defenders have a great mix of solid offensive play and a good back line and goalie in Chloe Burden. Warrior Run has won seven straight games, including back-to-back routs of MCA (11-0) and Towanda (11-1). The Defenders have tough games with Southern Columbia, Milton and Central Columbia looming on the schedule.

3. HUGHESVILLE (6-4): After falling to Montoursville in a tough game, 1-0, the Spartans rattled off three straight wins by beating Wellsboro, Milton and Loyalsock, all of which were shutout victories too. Hughesville has a team that embodies “scoring by committee” as Elizabeth Wolfe, Katelyn Temple, Kylie Temple, Caradyn McGinley and others all often find the back of the net. You can’t narrow in on one Hughesville player and expect to shut the Spartans down.

4. MILTON (8-1): Following a 2-0 loss to Hughesville, Milton bounced back with a great 4-3 win against 10-win Southern Columbia and then blanked Shamokin, 6-0. Milton’s players have plenty of confidence after the last few year’s successes and a 5-0 start to the year. However, beating a team like Milton in a close game will pay dividends in terms of confidence and experience moving forward.

t-5. SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT (5-3): South Williamsport finally moved above .500 after beating Millville on the road on Saturday, 3-0, to get to 4-3. It was a needed win for the Mounties to get some confidence back this year with the team being fairly young. Against Millville, South had three players score and spread the ball around well.

t-5. WELLSBORO (7-4): The Green Hornets have six wins so far this year, which is the most since a 6-11-1 campaign since 2022 and the Green Hornets have a realistic chance at hitting double-digit wins, which would be the first since 12 in 2015. But first-year coach Michael Reese and the Green Hornets aren’t looking too far down the road. They know they have to take it a game at a time, and the team’s been playing well in each game.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK — Deborah Shultz, Williamsport: Talk about a great comeback. Shultz played on Saturday for the Millionaires and had a chance to score the game-winning goal, but wasn’t able to convert. She redeemed herself in a big way Tuesday when she scored the game-winning goal in double overtime with just 19 seconds to play to give Williamsport a 2-1 win against rival Montoursville. Shultz’ goal was an exciting one as time ticked down and fans got their money’s worth on Tuesday in a thriller.

Jon Gerardi is the sports editor at the Sun-Gazette and covers high school soccer. He can be reached at jgerardi@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JonGerardi.