Contributions from all Zephyrs led to Whitehall’s 3-0 shutout of Liberty on Saturday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

“They have been playing together for the last two seasons, working hard and fitting in to the system, and focusing in on skill work so that they can make the correct through balls and runs, and they are coming together really well right now,” said Whitehall head boys soccer coach Chris Bastidas.

Zephyr forward Elie Khalil scored Whitehall’s first goal on a header after a throw-in from Daniel Sullivan.

“Elie has been absolutely amazing, great in the air, controls the ball, great through balls, can score, and is stepping up in all aspects of the game,” Bastidas said.

Khalil’s goal came with 28:47 left in the first half.

“The game plan for tonight was, as it always is, play hard and connect passes,” Khalil said. “We do that really, really well. I think our midfield is doing really well connecting with our offense. I think our whole back line is really great. We have some big guys there, so that’s always good.”

Five minutes later, Ziyad Atiyeh found the back of the net on an assist by center back Tyler Anderson.

“Tyler’s been playing so well, stepping up. I’ve been coaching him since seventh grade,” said Bastidas. “He’s been on our defense all season long and then stepped up today when the ball came out for that assist.”

Liberty fought back in the second half, allowing just one goal early when Giovanni Mazzola scored on a cross from Khalil at the 32:21 mark.

“This field is very narrow for us, and we’re used to spreading the ball wide and being able to open up a ton of spaces and have a combination play from the midfield,” Bastidas said. “It was tougher to do that, so it was getting the ball, a faster combination play, a lot of one-touches, early through balls, and early crosses. We adjusted to that really well, and did what was needed for this specific game, which I really liked.”

As of Press deadlines, Whitehall’s record stood at 2-1-1, defeating Liberty and Allen, losing to Northwestern Lehigh, 3-2, and tying Emmaus.

“We were up 2-0 against Emmaus, so we would’ve liked to hang on and win that game, but it’s the first time in program history that we even tied them,” said Bastidas. “We are a very experienced team. It feels very good because we’ve had a good year, then a down year, and now it’s been two good years in a row, and hopefully this ends up being a third good year if we can stay together and maintain mental focus, and make a run for the playoffs.”

That is the intention of all of the Zephyrs.

“Two years ago, we went to the district final and we’ve been improving ever since,” said Khalil. “Last year with COVID, we didn’t do as well as we thought that we would, but this year I think we have a real good shot at winning districts. I think we’re a big district contender this year.”