Lehigh Valley United SONIC FC clinched their third playoff berth in four years following a 5-1 victory over Bux-Mont Torch to send them into the Northeast Conference Playoffs.

It was the eighth straight victory for the Sonic, who finished their regular season 9-3, following a 1-3 start to their summer.

Head coach Dave Weitzman now hopes his team can continue their fury on the pitch by working their way through the playoffs, onto the National Premier Soccer League final four later this month.

"Getting players back in the lineup that were missing early on in the season has been a big reason for our turnaround," said Weitzman. "We had a lot of guys that we were waiting to get back from college and it took us a little longer to gel than it normally has, but things have worked out for us over the last eight games and we've been playing well."

The SONIC played the Brooklyn Italians in the NEC semifinals yesterday past Press deadlines. The SONIC traveled to to the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn to play in the contest, as they were the second seed in the Keystone Division.

Greater Binghamton host the New York Red Bulls in the other semifinal on Thursday.

The conference final is scheduled for July 20th.

With 63 teams in the NPSL, the SONIC always have lofty goals of being crowned champions, as they were last year in San Diego. With this year's tournament final to be played at the site of the host with the highest seed, Weitzman would love to have an opportunity to have the championship be at their home turf at Whitehall.

"Right now it looks like Detroit City FC is the highest seed right now, but a lot of things can change over the next couple of weeks," Weitzman said. "We just need to focus on winning our games and moving through the playoffs because each game is going to get tougher from here on out."