The scoreboard verified that the Archbishop Ryan boys soccer team had downed Northwestern, but it didn’t tell the real story with its 5-1 tally of goals.

The Tigers looked for an early goal to gain some momentum in an attempt to hold off the undefeated District 12 champions. They got what they needed in the first six minutes as they took charge of the tempo and Colin Coffield put Northwestern up 1-0. The goal was exactly the type of play that head coach Nate Hunsicker was looking for.

“It was a nice build up,” said Hunsicker of Coffield’s goal. “Matt [Johnson] saw Colin coming through and he put the pass perfectly on line.”

Northwestern also put together some opportunities but was turned away from pushing its advantage any higher. On an attack by the Raiders, a shot deflected off goalie Austin Vogwill and bounced around in front of the net. The Tigers’ attempt to clear the ball went wrong and the ball wound up in the net, tying the game 1-1.

Vogwill saved a goal nearly midway through the second half when he tipped a shot up and over the crossbar to preserve the tie. The play resulted in a corner-kick for the Raiders and Teddy Westervelt put a perfect kick into play in front of the net where Sidiki Fofana finished off the play to give Archbishop Ryan a 2-1 lead.

As time came off the clock, Hunsicker changed up his scheme, attempting to get more pressure on Raiders goalie Andrew Lukaschek. The physical play of the game also picked up and Archbishop Ryan scored three goals in just over five minutes to put the game away.

“In my opinion, this was a one- or two-goal game,” said Hunsicker of how the game should have played out. “At the end we started to push up and that opened the flood gates for them. But we came out firing in the first half.”

In what was a physical game, Hunsicker didn’t believe that Archbishop Ryan’s physical style of play made the difference.

“The biggest thing is that they can piece together a total unit,” said Hunsicker. “From one-to-eleven we can’t match them, but I think that skill wise, we’re similar.”

While many Northwestern players were visibly distraught at the loss, Hunsicker preferred to focus on what the team was able to overcome this season to get as far as it did.

The Tigers worked their way through the interruptions and uncertainty of the coronavirus during summer and fall practices and then had to endure a number of key injuries early in the season. The lineup that was projected to be on the field at the start of the season wasn’t completely together until two-thirds of the way through the schedule. Even with all of the issues that arose, Northwestern won silver medals in the Colonial League and gold medals in districts to reach states and finish with a 16-5 overall record.

“In my closing thoughts to the team I told them not too many teams in the Lehigh Valley can say this season they won two medals,” said Hunsicker. “It hurts now but they have to keep the season in perspective.”

This year’s Tiger senior class won two Colonial League gold medals and a silver medal. They also won three district gold medals and went to states three times, including winning silver medals in 2017 as freshmen.

“They’ve been a great group and really brought a lot to this program,” said Hunsicker. “We’re going to miss them and will have some tough shoes to fill.”

This year’s Tiger roster shows 10 seniors. They are Ryan Baker, Donovan Martinez, Brandon Smeltz, Juan Arenas, Garcia, Aiden Bissell, Aiden Winter, Seth Brady, Brandon Golas and Vogwill.