Northampton and Parkland will likely be tired of each other before the soccer postseason comes to an end. A 1-0 Parkland win Monday night gave the two teams a split of their regular season games and it's very possible they'll meet again in the Lehigh Valley Conference playoffs next week and potentially in the District 11 Tournament down the road.

The two teams have begun to develop a rivalry, with Parkland (14-4, 12-2) taking all three meetings between them last season when the Konkrete Kids made their first-ever appearance in the LVC playoffs. Earlier this season, Northampton (12-4, 10-3) got revenge and sent a bit of a message when it picked up a 4-3 win over the Trojans.

As division rivals, Parkland has been the dominant team, but Northampton's program is quickly starting to flex its muscles, turning the meetings into a rivalry.

"I think it is," said Parkland coach Patrick Burns. "I don't know what the boys think, but I think it's becoming a rivalry for us. Craig [Carvin, Northampton coach] does a really good job with his club and he's got his kids going in the right direction. I think we're going to face them just like we did last year, in the first round of the playoffs again, so I think it definitely is going to be a rivalry."

The only goal in the game came at the 14:24 mark of the first half when Bronson Strampel took a pass from Belal Mohamed and drove it past goalkeeper Austin Cooper. Throughout the game, Parkland pressured Cooper and the Northampton defense, with much of the play taking place around deep in Northampton's side of the field.

"The boys really are starting to play well," said Burns. "We created a lot of scoring chances, which is great. I just told them 'I'm happy when you create a lot of scoring chances and only win 1-0'. We've just got to take care of the details and put the ball in the back of the net."

Parkland dominated the play, especially early in the second-half when they forced Cooper to make four diving saves in the first seven minutes of the half. Overall, Cooper made 14 saves, compared to just one that Parkland goalkeeper Evan Bleiler needed to make.

"They're a very well-organized team and they make sure that they have eight guys behind the ball all the time and then try to counter," said Birns. "I know one of their best players was hurt and that really hurt them tonight. They counter with a big, long ball and tonight, we just didn't let them do that. We put a lot of pressure on them so they couldn't play that long ball."

The win over Northampton gives Parkland the North Division title in the LVC. Emmaus and Parkland both have 12 wins, but Emmaus has one more LVC game remaining, while the Trojans have finished their conference schedule. If Emmaus defeats Central Catholic Thursday night, Emmaus would take top seed in the LVC playoffs and play Northampton in the opening round. An Emmaus loss would give the top spot to Parkland and set up a rematch with the Konkrete Kids in the LVC semifinals.