Kiki Woodward (1) of Muncy celebrates with team mates after scoring a goal against East Juniata at Midd-West High School in Middleburg. Muncy won 5-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Saturday’s District 4 Class A championship game between Muncy and Southern Columbia will be Round 2 between the two.

The first time they met the game was anything but close. Southern Columbia handed Muncy its first loss of the season back on September 22, 7-2.

Muncy fell behind early to a talented Southern Columbia team and couldn’t rally. But a loss helps you refocus and examine what went wrong and how to improve.

Round 2 is today at noon at Milton with a District 4 Class A championship on the line.

“It was good to play them. It was really important for us to play them,” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “It was our first loss of the season, it always stings, but from everything you can grow whether it’s a loss or a win or a draw. We can learn from that and get better and we used that to fuel us moving forward and used that to learn to make changes to keep going forward with the season to get to this point.”

And it has Muncy vying for a District 4 Class A championship for a second consecutive season.

Muncy has a number of talented players who can score, such as Kiki Woodward, Ava Eyer and Ella Nagel. But while the offense steals the show if you will and headlines, Muncy’s defense is just as talented.

“They get extremely overshadowed. You put 100 goals up for a season and no one wants to talk about the defense. We were just going over those stats. I thin it’s the last eight games we’ve allowed seven goals,” Gresh said. “They are extremely organized, they work their butts off and don’t always get the credit that they deserve.”

That back line of Rachel Paulhamus, Kyra Creasey, Mikaila Ganoe, Emma McCormick, Lexi McKeta and Katie Shipton know they have to play solid on Saturday afternoon against Southern Columbia.

The Tigers are the No. 1 seed with a 17-3 record in the tournament and are outstanding all around.

The Tigers have six players with at least 10 goals or assists. They’re led by senior Kennadie Reamer (17 goals, five assists) and have Kailee Helwgig (16 goals, 18 assists), Alyssa Conner (14 goals, six assists), Olivia Jones (12 goals, seven assists), Maice Swank (10 goals, nine assists) and Isabella Snyder (14 assists, four goals).

Against South Williamsport in the district semifinals, keeper Sierra Martino was outstanding and took away any chance the Mounties had at corner kick pieces and rarely let a Mountie get a clean look at the goal.

Muncy knows fighting for a goal will be far from easy to do.

Eyer leads Muncy with 31 goals and has 11 assists, freshman Woodward has 30 goals and nine assists and senior Nagel has a team-high 25 assists with 13 goals. Zoe Kunkle also has seven goals and seven assists.

Gresh has been impressed this year as well with sophomore Eva Nagel in goal. After being an all-league defender last year, she shifted this year to goalie after the graduation of Addi Gresh and has been solid.

“She had an absolutely phenomenal season, done everything we ask of her and puts her body on the line,” Gresh said. “She controls the 18, you know? The ability for her to play with her feet is something we’ve not had (before). It wasn’t really Addi’s strength, so she can come out on balls, we play back to her more than we did with Addi. It’s just a luxury to have somebody with the foot skills she has back there.”