As a sophomore in 2023, Logan Mesics got a chance to show what he could do on the soccer field and scored 15 goals while adding eight assists.

As a junior this season, Mesics has continued to produce, especially in the postseason. He collected two goals and three assists in three league playoff games and then added four goals and three assists in three district playoff games to help his team win the District 11 2A championship.

In the championship game, the junior forward scored two goals as Northwestern won its 24th straight game and sixth straight district championship with a 4-0 win over Notre Dame (Green Pond).

“Anytime you can contribute to the scoresheet in a big game like this, it’s always a great feeling,” said Mesics, who has 17 goals and 13 assists going into states. “Caelan (Stangil) gave us that early lead and that’s always big and I think it kind of put it in their heads what kind of night it was going to be, and we just used that momentum from that goal the rest of the way.”

Stangil’s opening goal came just 3:12 into the game when a shot ricocheted off Notre Dame goalie Mark Perone and bounded right to him. Without breaking stride, Stangil blew it past Perone for a quick 1-0 advantage.

From that point on the game turned more physical and there would be a total of four yellow cards handed out, two of which were given to Notre Dame players with a third being given to coach Trevor Koski. Jacob Van Lierop was given a yellow card for Northwestern.

With 8:25 left in the first half it was time for another Mesics highlight.

Senior Cayden Lloyd fed a lead pass to Mesics, who played the ball into a goal to give the Tigers a little breathing room and send them to halftime with a 2-0 advantage.

Northwestern opened the second half with a quick strike and again Mesics was in the middle of the play. Jack Mauro got the ball over to Mesics, who beat Perone as Northwestern expanded the lead to 3-0.

The award for the toughest goal of the night went to Cole Mertz, who had taken a bit of a beating at the hands of the Crusader defense.

Van Lierop fed a ball from the end line to Mertz, who was positioned at the right corner of the goal with Perone directly in front of him. Mertz was able to squeeze the ball between Perone and the post for what would be the final goal of the night with 17:27 left to play.

At that point, it was an all-out physical battle with both sides looking for an advantage. Meanwhile, the Northwestern defense refused to bend, and the Crusaders were unable to find openings for high-percentage shots on goal.

“Their main goal was just to play the ball over the top,” said Northwestern senior goalie Brandon Krapf, who recorded his 15th shutout of the season. “They didn’t have a lot of possession and passing in the middle, so it was a little more challenging to read all the balls coming in. That was their main approach on offense, and we did a pretty good job of working on that and keeping the ball out of the net.”

Northwestern outshot the Crusaders 17-7.

“Brandon made some huge saves for us in the second half when Notre Dame was knocking on the door and looking to make some noise,” said Northwestern head coach Nate Hunsicker. “ He kind of defied gravity there for a moment on one where he was sprawled across the net. We were hoping to be up by a couple more at halftime, so you have to credit them because they played a solid game defensively. Anytime we can score four goals in a playoff game, especially with our defense, I like our chances.”

Facing a physical opponent is not unfamiliar to Northwestern, who played a wild and physical game against Moravian Academy two nights earlier in the semifinals and also in the league championship. Maintaining composure is one of the things that Hunsicker has stressed to his players.

“It’s one of the biggest things,” said Hunsicker. “The kids know that my staff and I are just not going to tolerate it and put up with losing your composure because you are letting the team down and letting your school down; it’s one of our founding principles.”