A perfect evening for soccer turned out to be a perfect game for Northwestern Lehigh’s girls team in the opening round of the PIAA Class 2A state soccer tournament.

When Kaitlyn Browning booted a shot past Dallas goalkeeper Morgan Solano with 18:12 in the first half an it held up for the winning point.

Tiger goal keeper Naomi Glassberg thwarted the Mounts at every turn.

“She’s amazing, irreplaceable back there,” said Northwestern head coach Jordan Smith. “And the comfort that the defense has with (Glassberg) behind them is outstanding.”

The heat was on in the closing two minutes and Glassberg was up to the challenge. Three times she came out to pick off boots that seemed possible scores. All three of those kicks came with time dwindling and Dallas putting the heat on the entire Northwestern Lehigh’s defense.

“I told Naomi at halftime she was like superwoman,” Smith said. “She kept us in the game that’s for sure, and she’s never scared to get the ball in the air and in traffic.”

Early on the Tigers looked much more quick-footed through the first half of play. They forced the action in the Dallas end. However, things started to meltdown right after Browning’s goal.

Late in the contest, Dallas was trying to tight the noose on Northwestern Lehigh’s neck. It had a shot from inside the 10-yard line, but Glassberg came out hunting, and turned away the would-be attempt.

With under four minutes, the Tigers got a breakaway, thanks to Camryn Fitch. As Fitch dribbled into the Mountaineers end, she let loose with a boot from within the five-yard line.

Boom, out came Solano turning away what would have been a sure back-breaker on the Mounts with 2:58 to play in this highly competitive contest.

“It would have been nice to get that one,” Smith said with a chuckle.

A score would have made things a lot less tense, too.

The all-important corner kicks were heavy in favor of Dallas, 6-3.

Without a doubt, Glassberg was a monster in goal for the win, turning aside 7 shots. Kudos to Solano who four saves of her own.

The win by the Tigers, which is now 18-1-1 on the season, sends them into Saturday’s match with either Radnor or Antietam. Dallas ends the season at 16-4-2.