The Northwestern boys soccer team needed a win. In the two games before the regular season summer league finale, the Tigers suffered a 1-0 loss to Freedom and a 2-2 tie with Emmaus.

Still with a top-two seed available from Group B, Northwestern was hoping to secure that, but also right the ship and gain some confidence and momentum heading into the postseason. Mission accomplished.

The Tigers broke a 4-4 tie in the second half to take down Liberty 6-4 Monday evening at Lehigh University’s Stabler Campus fields. They finished the regular season at 6-2-1, and are the second place team behind Emmaus (7-1-1) in Group B. The top five teams out of the three groups make playoffs.

“This was a good win for the boys,” said coach Derrick Reinert. “It’s always important to go out and take care of business, but especially in the last game before playoffs, after not getting the result we wanted in the last few. This is a good feeling.”

Summer leagues are designed for the players to get better and get accustomed to different teammates, and for coaches to use as somewhat of a rehearsal for what they will see in fall.

The Tigers were missing some players due to vacations and other commitments during their two-game winless streak, but had close to a full team on Monday when they needed a win most.

“It’s just about continuing to work,” said Reinert. “We’ve had summer workouts and great numbers for them, so they just need to keep working hard and get better each day. The potential is there.”

The defending Colonial League and three-time District 11 champions, Northwestern is integrating a large number of players into its starting lineup after the graduations of some key components to the last couple of seasons last year.

But the reload is on after three straight state tournament runs that included last year’s trip to the PIAA championship game.

“I think with these boys the talent is still there,” Reinert said. “Some of them just have to get used to having a bigger role. We like what we have, and there are still a couple of spots open for competition. A lot of it here was just getting the boys playing time and getting used to playing with each other.”

The Tigers squared off against Palisades (5-4) in the first round of the Lehigh Valley Summer Soccer League playoffs. The winner takes on the winner of Emmaus vs. Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals on Monday.