Spooky season?

Far from it.

This is when Northwestern’s boys soccer team comes alive.

The defending state champion Tigers showed their postseason prowess on Tuesday, turning aside a talented Allentown Central Catholic team 2-0 to reach the District 11 Class 2A semifinal.

After a scoreless first half, junior Jacob Van Lierop helped top-seed Northwestern break through with a goal just under 10 minutes into the second half on an assist from sophomore Caelan Stangil.

“It was such an exciting game,” said Tiger head coach Nate Hunsicker. “Central Catholic’s a strong side over there and they played a heck of a game, They put in a solid 80 minutes worth of work. It took a lot for us to finally crack them, and Jake (Van Lierop) made a heck of a run. Caelan (Stangil) made a hell of a pass flicking it over the back line there, and then Jake made a great finish one-on-one with the keeper.

“First half, we had a couple of really good opportunities hit the post and crossbar a handful of times and missed an open net once. But that’s the game of soccer. That’s going to happen. You’re not going to capitalize on every single situation where you feel that you should. It’s how you respond to those moments, and I thought our kids really responded well to that today.”

Van Lierop wasn’t about to get spooked with the ball on his foot.

“I pride myself on my confidence,” said Van Lierop. “Any time I have the ball at my feet I feel like I can take on any challenge. So I just had to calm myself down, make sure I just kept my wits about me and just put it away.”

Max Petersen had an opportunity for the fifth-seeded Vikings (13-9) after a free kick with under 10 minutes to play but sent it over the net. Central had another free kick from around 25 yards out with under seven minutes to play but the Tigers’ defense was able to clear the ball out of danger.

The Tigers’ (22-0) defense able to clear several opportunities by the Vikings in the final five minutes.

Michael Otieno sent in a shot with under 2:00 to play but junior goalie Brandon Krapf was able to make the save.

Krapf was incredible during a sequence with under two minutes to play to keep Northwestern ahead 1-0.

“It was very quick, and I was drawn to my near post from the cross that came in, and then they headed it back to the middle, so I had to jump back, and then immediately go for the diving save,” Krapf said. “I was just very thankful that I could keep a good grasp on it.”

Matt Johnson put the final nail in the coffin with 42.6 left, as raced down the field and beat three defenders to put the ball into the net for the defending 2A state champs.

“Matt does so many things well, but in terms of being a great finisher to a game like that when the other team is pushing numbers high and we kind of get them on an island and it’s kind of a one-on-one situation deep there, and we’re just looking to drive that ball over the top, and then Matty just puts his head down and goes, and uses his speed,” said Hunsicker. “He broke through two or three kids there and found himself one-on-one with the keeper and made a heck of a shot to bury it.”

Northwestern, champions of the Colonial League, will face No. 2 seed Blue Mountain, the Schuylkill League champions, Thursday in the Class 2A final. The Eagles topped Notre Dame Green Pond 4-2 in penalty kicks in the other semifinal Tuesday.

Krapf praised the Tigers’ defense helping him preserve the clean sheet.

“Nate (Kinzel), my center back, he’s very strong, very technical,” said Krapf. “And my two outside backs, Timmy (Zellner) and Nick Krum, they’re very strong, too. They have high soccer IQ and I’m just very thankful to have them.”

Tigers top Collegium in quarterfinal

It was hard for Hunsicker to find a lot wrong with his team’s 11-0 rout of Collegium Charter School in the District 11 Class 2A boys soccer quarterfinals on Wednesday,

The lone critique Hunsicker offered was it took a little longer than he hoped to get the first goal - 16 minutes into the game.

But the Tigers definitely made up for that “scoring lull” the rest of the game.

Stangil opened the scoring for the top-seeded Tigers (21-0) when he side kicked the ball into the right corner of the net on a pass from Van Lierop. Two minutes later, Johnson, who had the hat trick in the game, hit the back of the net from 12 yards out with an assist from Stangil.

At 19:04 of the first half, Stangil scored again, this time in front of the goal off a free kick with help from Van Lierop for a 3-0 advantage.

Collegium Charter could muster no passing game or offensive zone attack throughout much of the first 40 minutes, except for a sideline free kick from the 25-yard line at 16:45 from Julius Rigo that hooked its way into the hands of Tigers’ goalie Brandon Krapf.

Johnson knocked home his second goal at 11:05 after a corner kick with an assist from Francesco Ponte. Issac Frey made it 5-0 with an unassisted tally at 12:38.

The Tigers scored three more goals before the intermission. Johnson split the defense and banged home his third goal with an assist from Jack Mauro. With 3:05 remaining in the half, Mauro’s 15-yard boot from the middle of the field found the net, and at the 0:59 mark, Van Lierop scored an unassisted goal to give the Tigers a 8-0 lead at the intermission.

The second-half clock kept running under the mercy rule. With two minutes gone by, Logan Mesics scored for a nine-goal lead. With time winding down, Cole Mertz assisted on another score from Ponte. With four minutes to play, Mark Boushell scored the 11th and final goal on a penalty kick.

Johnson knocked home his second goal at 11:05 after a corner kick with an assist from Francesco Ponte. Issac Frey made it 5-0 with an unassisted tally at 12:38.

The Tigers scored three more goals before the intermission. Johnson split the defense and banged home his third goal with an assist from Jack Mauro. With 3:05 remaining in the half, Mauro’s 15-yard boot from the middle of the field found the net, and at the 0:59 mark, Van Lierop scored an unassisted goal to give the Tigers a 8-0 lead at the intermission.

The second-half clock kept running under the mercy rule. With two minutes gone by, Logan Mesics scored for a nine-goal lead. With time winding down, Cole Mertz assisted on another score from Ponte. With four minutes to play, Mark Boushell scored the 11th and final goal on a penalty kick.

Five Tigers registered multiple points on the scoring sheet. Three goals for Johnson, Stengil with two goals and two assists, a goal and two assists for Van Lierop, a goal and assist from Ponte, and two assists from Mauro.

Collegium Charter, from Exton in Chester County, came into the contest with an 11-7 record and a first-round 4-0 win over Nativity. The Cougars finally hit a wall against Northwestern with strength of schedule overwhelmingly on the side of the Tigers.

K

rapf spectated most of the game from his goal and made one save, as did substitute Tiger goalie Weiland Hite.

Johnson, a senior, added six more points to his incredible career total. With 35 goals scored this season, Johnson now has hit the back of the net 92 times in 71 career games. His 49 assists give him 233 points scored so far at Northwestern.