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Jon Gerardi on soccer: Sock girls are playing great to open the season

By Jon Gerardi 13 min read

It took Loyalsock just one game to show that the team was on the right path to turning things around and improving vastly from last year. A year ago, the Lancers started the year 1-4 and were outscored 15-4 in that span.

The first three games of 2026? The Lancers are 2-1 with two shutout ins and have allowed just one goal so far.

Quite the turnaround so far in one summer and Loyalsock's players are happy to be competing, playing well and, more importantly, winning. After a five-win campaign in 2025, Loyalsock has two wins so far this year and easily could have three right no after a tough 1-0 loss on Saturday to South Williamsport that could have gone either way.

"One of our captains said it best at the end (vs. South) coming off the field with everybody as a team: 'we're fine, we're fine.' Another captain when we were talking said 'I didn't hear any negative comments,'" Loyalsock coach Pete Ruhl said after a 1-0 loss to the Mounties. "I think there's been a complete shift in the way the girls talk to each other on the field, the way the coaching is toward the girls, and that seems to be contagious. If you start there, the play will adjust as needed. I think that's what we're all seeing. Now we have to get out there and reality is you have to earn the results."

Loyalsock's players have been earning those results for sure.

First, the Lancers shut out a talented Troy team, 3-0, enacting some revenge from a 7-0 loss a year prior. Loyalsock then came out and shutout a solid Hughesville team, 2-0. That's two wins against the defending District 4 Class AA finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in a few day's span.

Last year, that may have been a daunting start to the schedule for Loyalsock but this year, the Lancers are playing up to their competition and not getting intimidated by the opposing 11.

Loyalsock played some good competition throughout summer scrimmages, and that's been helping the Lancers improve and play well.

"We played some summer scrimmages this summer against Montoursville who's tough, Williamsport who's always challenging and we played South too," Ruhl said. "Every single time we were scored on, I mean we ended up going down 2-0 to Montoursville in summer scrimmage. We came back to make it 2-1, they scored and then made it 3-2. These girls are showing resiliency. They know we're there to support them and know we're there to keep pushing them. I think that's what they're seeing."

That early confidence and wins will help the team moving forward too in hoping to make a playoff push and surpass last year's win total. Loyalsock's schedule gets tougher as the season marches along which includes dates against Milton (District 4 Class AAA finalist), Warrior Run (District 4 Class AA quarterfinalist), Bloomsburg and Southern Columbia (District 4 Class A finalist).

A tough stretch, but the Lancers have shown so far they can compete with good teams by beating Troy and Hughesville and hanging with South Williamsport in a one-goal loss.

Don't be surprised to see Loyalsock putting up more wins this year and playing well against tough teams. They've already proved they can step up so far early this year, and they're eager to prove they can do it time and time again.

A WALL IN GOAL

Through three games, Loyalsock keeper has been playing outstanding and as well as you could want a keeper to play.

Against District 4 Class AA runner-up Troy, she blocked everything sent at her to secure a 3-0 win to open the season 1-0.

Against District 4 Class AA semifinalist Hughesville, Deknecht recorded 16 saves against a team which isn't afraid to shoot and helped the Lancers win, 2-0.

And against District 4 Class A semifinalist South Williamsport, Deknecht did what she does best again and recorded 11 saves against a motivated Mounties team in a 1-0 loss.

Deknecht isn't afraid of tough competition, and keeps playing great against whoever is against the Lancers.

"She's playing well in goal and other thing I think people don't see is when you read paper sometimes is defensive shape the girls are playing. They're covering each other. Speed for speed, they may not always be faster, but they're playing great defensive shape and keep things in front of them," Loyalsock coach Pete Ruhl said. "They're forcing shots from outside that Ava can line up and save quite comfortably. They're really helping her out a lot. There's no question she's huge. She made a huge one against Troy on a direct kick, made one against Hughesville colliding with a player, and today a few good saves with pressure coming in, especially one she got knocked around a bit."

Having a good keeper is something any coach wants. And having one you know you don't have to worry about if a throughball gets by? That's even better for a coach.

"I feel very comfortable. I mean her and Rayven (Johnson) our backup too, they both timed it well (vs. South) and aren't afraid to come out an challenge," Ruhl said.

MOVING UP THE

LEADERBOARD

Montgomery's Dylan Sherman scored four goals in Saturday's 7-0 rout against Wyalusing. And in the process, Sherman made history. The Red Raider scored his 50th career goal with his first goal and became the third Montgomery player to ever record 50 or more goals in a career in a Red Raider uniform. He sits at 53 and counting.

Sherman joins Seth McQuay (all-time leader with 95) and older brother Owen.

"Dylan works extremely hard in the offseason. He spreads himself very thin between soccer and kicking for varsity football," Montgomery coach Michael Sherman said. "Many do not appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to achieve milestones such as this as a multi-sport athlete today."

Coach Sherman brought the Red Raiders' boys soccer program back in 2019 and has built the team back to being playoff contenders. And he's coached the last two 50-goal scorers.

"I have been fortunate to have coached two-thirds of Montgomery's 50-goal scorers in my seven years as head coach," Sherman said. "That certainly has impacted the level of our program's success and enabled us the opportunity to play in the highly sought after 19th game at the conclusion of the regular season."

WILLING TO ALWAYS IMPROVE

Hughesville started this year with a 2-1 record and has picked up wins over both South Williamsport and Sullivan County. The year's early and a lot can happen between now and late October.

But for coach Cole Lesher, he's seen his players have a willingness to improve, and that's something he's glad to see and happy about.

"I think early on we lost to Milton, 4-3, and there's some things we have to fix and capitalize on some things. I think the win against South Williamsport afterwards helped them realize that once they're able to be focused and work hard, there's good results," Lesher said. "But I think they realized that if we don't play our game, good things won't happen. I think realizing we're moving forward, we're a good team and they're getting that experience from last year which helped them learn the system better. I think they're a lot more willing to keep working."

The two wins early on have shown the Spartans want to improve on mistakes they've made and keep grinding and getting better.

33 YEARS AND COUNTING

The last time that Sullivan County had a coach not named Chris Koschak on the sidelines for the boys soccer program was the fall of 1992. That following offseason, Koschak was named coach and for the past 33 years, he's been manning the helm at Sullivan County.

"I don't know," Koschak said after a loss to Hughesville this year as to what makes him keep coming back to coaching. "I just enjoy it."

Through the good seasons and bad seasons, Koschak keeps coaching the boys year after year and molding them into who they are. And, as Koschak said, he coaches because well, what else is there to do?

"It's like Joe Paterno said, what else am I gonna do? Mow the lawn?" Koschak joked. "I enjoy working with the kids, I enjoy seeing them put up a fight."

The Griffins have a small roster this year, but Koschak is happy with what he's seen so far from the team, including the goalie play of Justin Heminghaus, who had 16 saves in a 6-1 loss to Hughesville.

"We had two freshmen starting out there, one who's never played a game before and did an excellent job. The other was playing centerback and shut those guys down. I think we're decently strong at the keeper position," Koschak said. "I think that our passing looked good at times and there's a lot of positives to walk away with. We fought the entire game, we didn't hang our heads, we didn’t argue with each other. It's a team, and it's a team in progress."

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

JON GERARDI’S TOP 5 RANKINGS

BOYS SOCCER

1. Lewisburg (1-1): Lewisburg suffered its first loss of the year in the Green Dragons' first game, but bounced back with a 6-0 rout against Camp Hill a game later to move to .500 after two games. Gabe Pawling recorded his 44th career shutout in that win as Lewisburg limited Camp Hill's offense.

2. Williamsport (2-1): Williamsport's schedule started with a number of road trips and so far, the Millionaires are 2-1 with one more road game to Mill Hall left on Thursday. Williamsport beat both Reading (3-1) and Hazleton (5-2) and suffered a 6-0 loss against State College. The Lions have allowed just one goal so far through three games and are a tough team to score against.

3. Loyalsock (1-1): The Lancers beat Jersey Shore 5-2 to open the year before suffering a tough 5-1 loss to a Benton squad. Steve Ertel has done a great job keeping his team focused and playing well, so don't expect the Lancers to be dwelling on that Benton loss. Loyalsock has some tough tests coming up, including a matchup with Central Columbia and Southern Columbia soon.

4. Wellsboro (2-1): The Green Hornets' offense has been firing on all cylinders early, and that's something coach John Shaffer has to be more than happy about. The Green Hornets through three games have scored 19 goals and beat Wyalusing, 11-0, and Troy, 7-0, before a 3-1 setback against Towanda on the road. A number of Wellsboro players have scored so far, showing the team has versatility up top.

5. Hughesville (2-1): The Spartans rebounded from a 4-3 season-opening loss to Milton to pick up back-to-back wins against South Williamsport and Sullivan County, winning those two games by a combined 12-2 score. Cole Lesher and the Spartans have confidence early, but Hughesville will have some tough tests on the schedule coming up with games against Montoursville, Jersey Shore and Central Columbia looming.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Carter Gormont, Hughesville

Gormont has put up numbers through just three games that many players would be happy with for a season. Gormont has scored 13 goals so far this year, six of which he scored in a 6-1 win over Sullivan County. Gormont's 13 goals leads the area by nine over the next top scorer.

GIRLS SOCCER

1. Warrior Run (3-0): Three games, three wins and Warrior Run is off to a solid start. The Defenders defeated South Williamsport (2-0), Mount Carmel (5-0) and Montgomery (6-2) to open the year and are playing well all around. Scarlett Dunkleberger, Natalie Hall and Lacey Betz already all have multiple goals so far this year as well and are proving to be a solid three-headed scoring monster early this season.

2. Loyalsock (2-1): Loyalsock may be surprising some folks after last year's five-win season, but the Lancers knew from the summer they had the ability to have success this year and are doing so early. The Lancers opened the year with shutouts vs. Troy and Hughesville, the District 4 Class AA runner-up and semifinalist, respectively, before falling to South Williamsport narrowly, 1-0. The Lancers are playing great under coach Pete Ruhl and have talent throughout the roster.

3. Hughesville (2-1): Hughesville opened the year with a tough 5-3 win against Wellsboro before suffering a 2-0 loss against Loyalsock in which the Spartans recorded 16 shots on goal. But Hughesville rebounded and put up nine goals in a win against Muncy. Hughesville has a tough stretch coming up with games against Warrior Run, South Williamsport and Southern Columbia which will prove to be good tests early on for Hughesville.

4. Williamsport (2-0): The Millionaires played Dallas and Shikellamy so far to open the year and earned two 3-2 wins in both games. Those close wins are good for confidence for the Millionaires who know when it comes to tight games with little room for error, they know what it takes to win and what to do defensively. Those close wins are often more valuable than a lopsided rout.

5. South Williamsport (1-1): The Mounties have a young team this year and, as noted in this year's Golden Goals e-magazine, lost a lot of talented seniors. But South Williamsport has shown early that it still has plenty of younger players who can step up and make a difference. The Mounties suffered a close 2-0 loss to Warrior Run before beating Loyalsock, 1-0, handing the Lancers' their first loss. South won the possession battle against Loyalsock for majority of the game and didn't let the Lancers put in an equalizer late.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Katelyn Temple, Hughesville

Temple has come on strong early this season as a go-to scoring threat for the Spartans. In Hughesville's three games played, she's scored four goals and has two assists. Her four goals ties teammate Regan Sellers for the area's leading scorer and her two assists are behind only Loyalsock's Madelyn Hughes's three.

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