Coming into Tuesday, September ninth’s, matchup, both Northwestern and Bangor girls soccer teams were undefeated. The defending state champs were looking to secure their eighth consecutive win and give Bangor their first loss of the season, while Bangor was facing their toughest opponent yet.
The Tigers struck early with a goal from Sophia Schaffer early in the first half. However, the Slaters did not give up. Instead their offense remained aggressive and their defense held strong. For a time the teams seamed to be in a stalemate, with offenses making attacks, but defenses quickly stopping their momentum, but Northwestern eventually broke through and scored again to bring the score to 2-0. Bangor kept fighting and with a foul inside the eighteen they were awarded a PK to make it a one score game. Sarah Wallis stepped up to the spot and secured herself a goal to the right of the goalie.
Although Bangor seemed to be holding their own, their defense lacked the aggression at the end of the first half. The Tigers took advantage of this opening and were able to find the back of the net twice before the end of the half. The Slaters left the field down three heading into halftime.
The Tigers started off the second half aggressive and eager to find the openings in Bangor’s offense. Bangor was a bit stronger but was still no match to the state champs, with another three goals being allowed before full time. The Slaters’ offense struggled to make its way through the Tigers’ defense, with minimal shots on net and no goals.
Northwestern left the field with an impressive seven goals, four of which were scored by Sophia Schaffer. The remaining goals came from Juliet Snyder who scored two and Amelia Glassberg with the remaining one.
Although this game was heavily dominated by Northwestern, Bangor is still a contender for district and colonial playoffs, heading into their next matchup 5-0 against Palmerton Thursday night, who currently stands with a 2-2-1 record. Northwestern looks to make their record 9-0 after their matchup with Pen Argyl Thursday night, who are currently 1-3.
