The Northampton boys soccer team capitalized late in the firs half, and then relied on some late saves in the second half to defeat Allentown Central Catholic on Monday for their first win of the season.

The game’s lone goal came with 49 seconds remaining in the opening half. It was the result of a nifty header by Joseph Tiwold as he notched his first goal of the season.

The ball, launched off the foot of Cole Clapp, arced toward the box where Joseph played it in midair, his body contorting to apply the right angle to direct it toward the net. The ball blooped behind the goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead, a goal that stood up the rest of the way to move the Kids to 1-3 on the season.

“It all just started with our team just knocking the ball around, and that’s just how we’ve been coached all season,” said Tiwold. “And from there, Cole played a beautiful ball right in the middle, and all I just did was get my head on it and good things came from there.”

Head coach Ryan Brazuk said that they had to get through a stretch where they played arguably the best teams in the conference to start the season, so Monday’s win showed a lot of character.

“My guys never quit, and it’s nice to see that putting tactics that we learned in training into our matches, and it showed today,” said Brazuk. “The guys had heart; the guys had fire, and most importantly they played as a team.”

Goalkeeper Brady Rimple made sure they earned that first win on Joan Kremus Field, making some diving stops late in the game to keep the Vikings off the scoreboard. He took charge both verbally and physically, making sure everyone was on the same page.

“He’s just so intellectual on the ball,” said Brazuk. “You can just tell he anticipates plays And that’s what makes a player go from good to great.”

Rimple had to stand tall a number of times, knocking away balls headed toward the crossbar, or anticipating shots out of a scrum in the box.

“I truly believe he kept us in the game,” said Brazuk.

Defender Nate Horn also played a big part in helping the Kids notch their first win. He got the ball out of harms way a number of times, and his electric leg also flipped the field for his team throughout the game.

Brazuk said that Tiwold’s intuition led to the winning goal.

“He understands space and was at the right place at the right time,” said Brazuk.

Tiwold said that their mindset heading into this game was to just keep going at it. They had a tough stretch to begin the season, and simply believed that they needed to get a win under their belts to build some momentum.

“And now with this win, we’re looking to go forward from there,” said Tiwold.