Staff file photo / Neel Madhavan Niles junior forward Kherington Stanford dribbles the ball around the Perry goalkeeper during the Red Dragons’ 2-0 victory over the Pirates on Saturday morning at Bo Rein Stadium in Niles.

NILES — Losing in the district final in overtime last year was a disappointing end to what had been a special season for Niles.

However, it revitalized the Red Dragons heading into the offseason.

“We lost in overtime to a team that was very hungry and well-deserving of it,” head coach Scott MacMillan said. “But that left a (bad) taste, and I remind them of that every day.”

The team returned most of its lineup and began in January with lifting, yoga and other indoor workouts. Then during the summer, Niles traveled to a variety of soccer camps around the state and region, playing against some of the top teams in the state in the higher divisions, including the defending Division I state champions, as well as state champion teams from New York and Pennsylvania.

All the work the Red Dragons put in during the offseason has contributed to their dominance on the pitch this fall, according to MacMillan.

“We made sure we played those games to bring us to the point that we’re at,” MacMillan said. “I think our conditioning is key, and we have stayed healthy and that’s a plus. So I think it’s our offseason work that has put us in the situation where we’re at right now.”

In the final week of the regular season, Niles is in the midst of a historic campaign, as it sits undefeated with 15 wins. The Red Dragons’ lone blemish on their record is a tie to rival Girard back on Sept. 11, but they rectified that with a 3-1 victory over the Indians on Monday night.

“We’ve had good teams for a long time, but you gotta have a little luck. It always takes a little luck to get where you’re at,” MacMillan said. “It also takes a good bunch of kids, and they’re a really good bunch of kids. They play together. And when they play bad, they all play bad, when they play good, they all play good. It’s just a part of who they are.”

Seeds and pairings for the postseason were released this past weekend, and Niles earned a No. 1 seed in the Division IV, Northeast 3 district for the second consecutive season.

But this time, the Red Dragons want to bring home the district title and advance to regionals.

“They’re playing for their community. They’re playing for their school. We’re playing for Trumbull County and we’re playing for our conference,” MacMillan said. “We want to go as far as we can to get respect, as far as we can in the state. I tell them, to continue to have this kind of program, they have to be those girls to play for everybody.

“They get it. It’s not about them — they very rarely talk about what they’re getting. It’s all about the pride that they want to bring back to Niles because we’re struggling in some areas. But this girls program is a shining light right now for us, and hopefully we can lift the community with it and give them something good and positive.”

Niles has been one of the best attacking and goal-scoring teams in the area this season, and a big reason for that is junior forward Kherington Stanford, who has been one of the best scorers and distributors in the state with 41 goals and 17 assists.

But Stanford wouldn’t have the tally she does if it weren’t for the team around her. Junior Maddie Yost has also scored 19 goals this fall, while providing 16 assists. Plus, junior Taylor Bickerstaff has eight goals and 11 assists to go along with four goals and nine assists from senior Cali Rodgers and three goals and seven assists from Emma Merlo.

Not to be outdone, however, the defense has also been stout for the Red Dragons. Led by junior goalkeeper Grace Guarinieri, Niles has allowed just nine goals all season, while shutting out eight teams.

“These girls have been playing together since they were little,” MacMillan said. “I’ve seen pictures — (assistant) coach (Giovanni) Merlo had them when they were young playing in youth leagues and travel leagues. So they’ve grown together and they’ve stayed together. … They know their jobs, the thirds of the field they’re playing in and how to do it. They’re well-trained.”

Niles still has one game left in the regular season before the playoffs begin. The Red Dragons are set to visit Lakeview on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., before they host Akron Coventry in the first round of the postseason on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.