NW boys soccer team makes return trip to state finals

PENNSBURG — It was almost expected.

Senior Noah Meyers entered Tuesday’s state semifinal with a team-leading 20 goals.

And against Archbishop Wood, the Northwestern forward added to his total.

Meyers recorded goals No. 21 and 22 at Upper Perkiomen High School to lead the Tigers (25-0) to a 3-1 victory over the District 12 champions and advance to the PIAA Class 3A title game.

“I love the way we finished,” said head coach Nathan Hunsicker. “Noah’s goals and even Sam’s (Seyfried) goal was excellent. Unless you’re a soccer purist, you don’t actually know how hard those finishes were.

“The atmosphere tonight was great, and I thank the students and fans who came out. One more to go now.”

Seyfried scored the third goal from the penalty spot for insurance, which proved in the end to be important.

Northwestern is heading back to Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday night for its second straight trip to the PIAA final.

The Tigers looked like the team that was going to strike first, as it held possession and created more of the scoring chances. Then, in the 29th minute, the Tigers found their opening.

Senior Andrew Goodolf jumped up for a ball that was sent in the air from the Northwestern side of the field. Goodolf flicked it off his head onto the running path of Meyers, who neatly slotted a shot into the bottom left part of the netting for the game’s opening goal.

The 1-0 score would hold until halftime. After a 43-minute dry spell for both teams, the Tigers struck again, as once more the tally came from the foot of Meyers.

Meyers scored off a pass from freshman Jeff Garcia with 19:13 remaining to give his team a two-goal cushion.

“He’s been great all year,” Hunsicker said about Meyers. “But over the last couple of games he has just been shining for us. I could not be happier for him. He is not only a great player, but a fantastic kid.

“Once again, he went out there and showcased himself, and I could not be happier for him and all of the guys on this team.”

After a Tigers player was tripped up inside of the 18-yard box, the referee awarded a penalty kick. Seyfried connected and gave Northwestern a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Archbishop Wood, however, would get one back on a chip shot by Hugh Lynch that may have caught senior goalie Taylor Wanamaker off guard as the ball got over his outstretched arms and into the goal with 5:09 left.

The Vikings threatened inside of the next two minutes, and actually had a ball roll right in front of the Northwestern goal, but no one was there to finish it off.

The Tigers saw the clock run to 0:00 and celebrated a trip back to the state final.

SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM ... Northwestern returns to Hersheypark Stadium Saturday night to square off with District 3’s No. 1 seed Lower Dauphin for a second straight year. The Lions won the title with a 3-0 victory last year.

MEYERS MAGIC ... Meyers has led the team in goals for a majority of the season, and his two goals Tuesday night proved to be the difference in leading his team to the state final.

CHEAP SHOT ... Archbishop Wood’s lone goal was a chip shot that sneaked into the goal and caught Wanamaker off-guard. Outside of that goal, Wanamaker was stout in net.

LAST SHOT AT PERFECTION ... Northwestern has never had a boys soccer team go undefeated. A win Saturday night would result in the Tigers first undefeated season and state title.

STAT CHECK ... Northwestern finished the contest with a 12-8 advantage in shots, while both teams had two corner kicks.