A solid defense seemed to be the theme of the week for the Northampton girls varsity soccer team as they near the end of their 2013 season.

Northampton goalkeeper Anna Keffer amassed 19 saves in the team's last three games and allowed only two goals against. Although Northampton would emerge victorious in just one of these battles, Keffer's strong tending skills would keep these contests close and keep a win within grasp for Northampton.

In their first contest of last week, Northampton hosted Emmaus on Oct. 1. Northampton knew the 9-5-1 Hornets team would be a strong contender. Through the first period, the game remained scoreless. With a strong defense and solid shots on net, Northampton controlled the game and matched Emmaus at every kick. In the second period, Northampton's Leandra Sterner scored the lone goal of the game on an assist from Brianna Dotter. This would be Sterner's 19th goal of the 2013 season. In the end, Northampton goalkeeper Keffer would make 4 saves to keep Emmaus scoreless for a 1-0 Northampton win.

The girls traveled to Whitehall for a strong defensive game on Oct. 3. Northampton's Keffer made an outstanding 11 saves throughout the game, keeping the contest scoreless into the second half. The Kids also kept Whitehall's goalkeeper busy by launching eight solid shots on net, but all were kept out by Whitehall goalkeeper Jude Luckenbill. Just when it seemed that a 0-0 tie was imminent, Whitehall's Diana Roustic would hammer in a pass from teammate Kourtney Cunningham and the game would end in a 1-0 Zephyr win.

Northampton faced the conference powerhouse Parkland team on Oct. 8, in a home game. The 12-2-2 Parkland team took the field with confidence, scoring three goals during the first half. Though Keffer stood strong in net for the Kids with four saves overall, Parkland would go on to score one additional goal in the second half. In the end, Northampton would go down scoreless in a 4-0 Trojan win.

At press time, the girls were preparing for their final conference game against Nazareth on Oct. 9. The team finishes their 2013 season against Pocono Mountain West on Oct. 11.