After Tuesday’s boys soccer 3A semifinals finished up, Northwestern Lehigh’s girls and boys teams were eager to play for a District XI championship. Little did they know that they would have the chance to win them at the same venue, two hours apart from each other. The Tigers’ girls team pulled off an impeccable second half comeback, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 victory over Schuylkill League Champion Pottsville. The boys team followed suit, getting on the scoreboard early and led comfortably for the rest of the match en route to a 3-0 victory over Blue Mountain.
The first match of the doubleheader featured two league champions and some stellar goal scorers. Pottsville and Northwestern Lehigh came into the District XI championship with one loss apiece. Gracie Evans did not wait long to put the Lady Tide on the board, as six minutes into the contest she floated a ball over the head of Tigers goalkeeper Naomi Glassberg for an early 1-0 lead.
Twenty minutes into the match, Northwestern’s Sophia Motolese put one in the net off of a corner kick to even up the score 1-1. This score would hold until eight minutes into the second half when Pottsville all state midfielder Ava Goodman rifled a shot at Glassberg in goal. The ball hit off of Glassberg’s hand, off the near post, and ricocheted in front of the goal where Maddy Lenker was there to knock in the rebound attempt to regain the lead. Ava Goodman nearly tallied a goal minutes later, when she sent a missile of a shot from outside the 18-yard box. Glassberg got a few fingers on the ball and ricocheted it off the crossbar and out of play. This play was the turning point of the match for the Tigers, as minutes later leading scorer Kylie Zentz found the back of the net to tie up the match at 2-2. Less than three minutes later, Lexi Bleam scored on a corner kick to put the Tigers ahead for good. Pottsville had one last attempt to score with a minute to go when sophomore Liv Hable rocketed a shot low, but Naomi Glassberg made the stop. Kayla Bardonner would add the Tigers’ fourth goal with five seconds to go to seal the final margin and secure back to back district titles for Northwestern Lehigh.
A mere 30 minutes after watching their classmates take a victory on Lehighton’s Multi Purpose Stadium’s turf, the boys team took the field eager to complete a victorious night for the Tiger faithful. Blue Mountain entered the match coming off of a 1-0 victory over East Stroudsburg South. Northwestern Lehigh entered after an emotional, overtime victory over Colonial League champion Southern Lehigh in the semifinal.
Colin Coffield did not wait long to put the Tigers ahead, when less than three minutes into the match, he made a few shifty moves to his left and sent a shot off of his left foot low and past Eagles keeper DJ Burkhardt. Both teams had multiple chances apiece throughout the rest of the half, but could not convert. The closest attempt was when Blue Mountain freshman Ryan Mundy broke away and received a pass on his way toward the goal, but he tripped inside the box. The Eagles were looking for a penalty kick attempt, but their wish was not granted by the officials.
Seven minutes into the second half, Colin Coffield found striker Jeff Garcia near the net, where he sent a header into the back of the net to increase the Tiger lead to 2-0. Matthew Johnson would later add an insurance goal with under ten minutes to go in the match. The Eagles could not muster up another attempt on goal in the final minutes, and Northwestern Lehigh was crowned District XI 3A Boys Soccer Champions. The boys’ victory topped off a golden night for the Tigers and advanced both the boys and girls teams to the PIAA state tournament.
