Ella Nagel of Muncy takes a shot against York Christian at Shikellamy High School. Muncy won 3-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

SUNBURY — Ella Nagel can read the soccer field perfectly. She knows exactly where her teammates are going to be whether it’s Ava Eyer on a breakaway or Kiki Woodward down along the sideline.

It’s no surprise that Nagle leads Muncy’s team with assists this year. As she entered Tuesday’s PIAA Class A playoff game against York Catholic at Shikellamy, Nagel was sitting at 25 assists, more than double the amount of Muncy’s next highest assist leader.

And on Tuesday, she dished out quite a few more, but these ones are just a little more important to her.

Nagel had an assist on all three of Muncy’s goals and, while it was important to help the Indians secure the program’s first-ever state playoff victory, it was also a nice personal milestone for Nagel.

The three assists pushed Nagel to 28 for the season and 65 for her career as the senior tied former Muncy standout — and her sister — Emilie Nagel.

“I’ve been hearing about it in practice like ‘guys, I need to get this,'” Nagel’s teammate Kiki Woodward said after Tuesday’s 3-0 win against York Catholic.

The last few games, Ella has been receiving texts from Emilie asking her when she was going to tie her record. Now, Ella can call her big sister and let her know she finally did so.

“She’s been texting me every game like ‘Ella, when are you going to do it?'” Nagel said with a laugh. “So I’m going to call her after this.”

Opposing defenders and midfielders know that Nagel can dish out assists easily, so she’s often found herself defended well. But even so, she seems to be able to get passes where they need to be as Ava Eyer or Woodward are able to find the back of the net off Nagel’s passes.

“It is a big milestone and I’m really happy to hit it here with this team,” Nagel said. “I couldn’t be more happy.”

Ella got to play alongside Emilie for two years at Muncy. Emilie graduated in 2023 as she became Muncy’s fifth 50-goal scorer and set the assist record that season. She tied Aleaha Bigelow that fall with 76 career goals for the all-time mark.

For Ella to tie her sister in the state playoffs is a bittersweet moment for her and one she’s proud to have done her senior season. It was something she wanted to do entering this fall, knowing she was within striking distance.

“It’s definitely one of her goals coming into the season. As we got into the playoffs, assists were a secondary to winning. So, whether it was going to happen or not at that point we weren’t sure because you get into this time of the year and the games are going to be 10-0 anymore, right?” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “So it’s about if she has to make the pass or have the shot or get the hockey assist by setting the play up, she’s making the correct decisions.”

Ella sits at 65 career assists and 37 career goals as the Indians prepare for another game on Saturday in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals.

“It definitely speaks volumes of what she’s meant to this program and worked her butt off,” Gresh said. “I think there’s a little bittersweetness to tying her sister’s record, but it certainly was a goal and Emilie was her biggest fan and wanted her to do it.”

It’s some sisterly love, and now both Nagels have etched their place in school history as two of the best to ever wear an Indians jersey.