Many teams are looking to make deep runs in the District 4 boys soccer playoffs | News, sports, jobs

These two are on a collision course to meet again this year, but this time the stakes will be higher as they are on opposite sides of the bracket. That means if they meet again, it will be for the district title.

But you have to play the game first before you can possibly reach the finals.

With that said, let’s break down the District 4 boys soccer brackets.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette correspondent Warrior Run’s Cooper Wilkins (2) breaks past Williamsport’s Brayden Ungard (5) in the first half.

DISTRICT 4 CLASS A

Three region teams will compete for a district title in the Class A field. Among them is Montgomery, a team looking to build on last year’s success. Last season, the Red Raiders made the playoffs and fought hard against East Juniata in overtime before falling. That playoff loss hurt and it motivated players who were on the team last year to win this year.

Montgomery is seeded fifth and will face fourth-seeded Southern Columbia on Saturday in Midd-West. The Red Raiders have a talented offensive group led by Dylan Sherman, Dylan Hill and Xavier Koch, a trio that plays well up top and can score.

South Williamsport has a tough draw as the Mounties have to battle top-seeded Northumberland Christian. The Warriors went undefeated this year with a 17-0-1 record and won the Allegheny Christian Athletic Association title with a 10-0 mark. Northumberland Christian only scored nine goals all year, scoring 93. Northumberland Christian fought Loyalsock hard through two overtimes, 1-1, and defeated a talented Montoursville team, 3-1, late in the regular season. The Warriors also have wins over Muncy, Selinsgrove and Shikellamy.

At the bottom of the league, second-seeded Benton faces Sullivan County on Saturday. Benton has suffered just one loss and is on an impressive fourteen-match winning streak. That loss came on September 7 against District 4 Power Midd-West 3-1. Since then, Benton has allowed just twelve goals in fourteen games.

The Griffins know they are in for a test and a battle. Sullivan is led by Tucker Blasi’s 13 goals, and Colin King (five goals) and CDJ Koschak (five goals) can help the offense.

Sullivan will have to play solid defense for all 80 minutes to beat Benton.

PREDICTIONS

QUARTERFINAL–Northumberland Christian over South Williamsport; Montgomery over South Columbia; Benton above Sullivan County; Millville over Juniata Christian. SEMIFINAL–Northumberland Christian over Montgomery; Benton above Millville. END–Benton over Northumberland Christian.

DISTRICT 4 CLASS AA

Lewisburg earned the No. 1 seed in Class AA this year with a 16-1-1 record and Central Columbia has the two seed after a 16-2 win. Both teams are favorites to meet in the district final and that would undoubtedly be an excellent rematch. Who is favored to win the title this year? It’s a bit of a toss-up as both teams are incredibly talented and play hard.

Central Columbia beat Lewisburg this year and the Blue Jays are an excellent team all around. Central Columbia outscored its opponents 88-14 this year and boasts a trio of double-digit scorers. Gage Gensemer has 23 goals and 16 assists, averaging 1.3 goals and 0.9 assists per game. Torin Karns has scored 21 goals and provided 11 assists and AJ Sedor has 13 goals and nine assists.

In goal, Lucas Utt has recorded eight shutouts.

The only teams to beat Central Columbia are Northwestern Lehigh (2-1) and Camp Hill (1-0).

Lewisburg mirrors the Blue Jays in many ways, especially defensively. The Green Dragons allowed just eight goals this year. The only team to beat the Green Dragons was Central Columbia in a 1-0 game earlier this season.

But before a potential clash between the two programs can happen, they must get through the bracket and both get a first-round bye.

Warrior Run hosts North Penn-Liberty on Tuesday, while the winner faces Lewisburg on Saturday. The defensemen don’t have one go-to scorer, but rather a scoring attack by committee type, with Gideon Kennel, Ori Kennel, Gavin Hunter, Cristian Cirilo, Jared Severs and Carter McCormick able to score. Braego Cieslukowski also played well in goal all year.

Liberty enters districts with an 11-6-1 record and is led by the duo of Brady Stetter, a 50-goal scorer, and Adynn Wheeland. Both have scored 16 goals, with Tate Strange scoring eight and providing seven assists. That trio is tough for teams to slow down.

Loyalsock has played great throughout and is confident heading into the postseason. The Lancers face Williamson in a play-in game on Tuesday. Last year marked the first time in six seasons that the Lancers did not advance to the district quarterfinals by missing the postseason. But Loyalsock will look to return to the quarter-finals. Evan Anderson has been a solid goal threat and in goal, Conor Lang has continued to make progress in big games.

The winner of that game will be tasked with taking on Central Columbia in the quarterfinals.

Milton’s boys soccer team hosts Lourdes on Tuesday and the Black Panthers have been solid all year. Offensively, Joel Langdon and Tobin Strous combined for 21 goals and 12 assists and Kade Ficks is also a solid threat with nine goals and three assists. That winner will face the eternal power from the Middle West in the quarter-finals.

A good quarterfinal is Wellsboro and Montoursville. Those two faced off late in the regular season as Montoursville came away with a 3-2 win. That was good preparation for districts and it will be interesting to see how the two play in Round 2.

The Green Hornets have four double-digit scorers: Micaiah Fitch (21 goals, 10 assists), Alex Citrino (21 goals, 13 assists), David Seeling (14 goals, 13 assists) and Lucas Cuneo (11 goals, nine assists). are constantly in the opposing team’s defensive thirds.

That offense will test Montoursville’s defense. The Warriors have allowed just 19 goals and have nine shutouts.

PREDICTIONS

PLAY GAMES – Warrior runs over NP-Liberty; Loyalsock over Williamson; Milton above Lourdes. QUARTERFINAL–Lewisburg over Warrior Run; Montoursville above Wellsboro; Central Columbia above Loyalsock; Mid-West above Milton. SEMIFINAL – Lewisburg over Montoursville; Central Columbia over the Midwest. END – Central Columbia over Lewisburg.

DISTRICT 4 CLASS AAA

Jersey Shore had a disappointing season a year ago, going 4-14 and missing the playoffs for the third time since 2013. The year before, the Bulldogs played in the District 4 Class AAA championship game. Playing for a title is exactly where Jersey Shore wants to be.

But to do that, the Bulldogs have a tough opponent in the Class AAA semifinals.

The Bulldogs had a tough stretch to end the regular season, going 1-3-1 in their last five games. Jersey Shore hopes to break that skid. Selinsgrove entered districts 9-8-1 and finished the year 1-2-1 in its final four games. The Bulldogs are led by Jack Breining, a senior, who has 14 goals and five goals. Dylan Hensler, a sophomore, has a team-high seven assists and has scored four goals.

The Seals’ offense runs through senior Damien Pardoe, who has scored 13 goals. No other Selinsgrove player has more than two goals.

PREDICTIONS

SEMIFINAL–Selinsgrove over Jersey Shore; Athens above Shikellamy. LAST–Athens above Selinsgrove.

DISTRICT 2-4 CLASS AAAA

Williamsport is the fifth seed in the District 2-4 Class AAAA subregional tournament and is in the postseason for the 10th straight season. Last year the Millionaires lost to Abington Heights in the semifinals 5-1.

Brayden Ungard has become a big part of Williamsport’s offense this year and is a big reason why the Millionaires have had success in the win column with 14 goals scored. Tarell Brown has helped open up the offense by using his speed and skill to put others in position to score.

Williamsport will try to reach the semifinals by facing Wilkes-Barre Area on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Wilkes-Barre Area also has just one double-digit goal scorer in Johnny Mendola, who scored 10 goals and four assists.

Wyoming Valley West is the top seed in the field and will host Williamsport of Wilkes-Barre Area on Friday at 6 p.m.

PREDICTIONS

QUARTERFINAL – Williamsport over Wilkes-Barre Area, West Scranton over Hazleton, Delaware Valley over Scranton. SEMIFINALS – Wyoming Valley West over Williamsport, Delaware Valley over West Scranton. END – Wyoming Valley West over Delaware Valley.

DISTRICT 6 CLASS AAA

Central Mountain is seeded third in Class AAA and will travel to Hollidaysburg, the second-seeded team, tonight for a 5 p.m.

Hollidaysburg has played strong this year, going undefeated in the Mountain League (8-0) and 14-3-1 overall. The Golden Tigers outscored their opponents 60-16 this year. Hollidaysburg enters districts on a five-game win streak after going 4-1 against Bellefonte on September 30. Since then, the Golden Tigers have given up just two goals: one against Philipsburg-Osceola and one against Huntingdon with shutouts against Bishop Guilfoyle, Penns Valley and Bald Eagle Area also featured in that run.

The Golden Eagles have numerous players who can score instead of relying on just one standout. Micah Blake leads Hollidaysburg with seven goals and three assists and Alex Arbogast has six goals and two assists. Hollidaysburg also has Luca Waible (five goals, three assists), Owen Naugle (four goals, three assists) and Yvan Chen (four goals, one assist) who can score when given the opportunity.

Central Mountain goalkeeper Jaggar Pardoe has proven himself this year. He has 110 saves and an average of 6.5 per game. The junior Wildcat has held Central Mountain in numerous games this year and will undoubtedly be counted on in the postseason.

From an offensive perspective, Cole Cooper has a team-high eight goals and two assists, Lincoln Breon has six goals and three assists and Gabe Killinger has four goals and three assists. Griffin Confer (three goals, five assists) and Isaiah Brinker (three goals, one assist) were also able to score goals.

The Wildcats have been tested this year with a tough schedule. That includes playing Altoona, Midd-West, Lewisburg, Selinsgrove, Williamsport, DuBois and South Williamsport. This year, Central Mountain played ten opponents who are playoff bound in District 2-4, District 4, District 6 or District 9.

PREDICTIONS

SEMIFINAL–Bellefonte over Tyrone, Central Mountain over Hollidaysburg. END – Central mountain above Bellefonte.