H.S. SOCCER: North Schuylkill soccer sweeps District 11 playoff openers

North Schuylkill 4, Lehighton 0The North Schuylkill boys’ soccer team began its pursuit of a first District 11 title Wednesday evening at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.The Spartans, coming off an 11-4-3 regular season, played host to the Colonial League’s Lehighton Indians. Lehighton made the District 11 Class AAA tournament as the final seed with a 2-14-2 record, narrowly edging Saucon Valley for the spot.Despite the significant difference in records, Lehighton kept Wednesday night’s matchup within striking distance through the first half.After North Schuylkill’s Ian Downer opened the scoring just five minutes in, the Indians managed the deficit while creating quality opportunities on frame.“We knew we were gonna have to come in with a lot of intensity,” North Schuylkill head coach Jarrid Todd said. “You get to playoffs, you can throw the records out the window. We knew Lehighton was gonna come in with a great game plan. We knew they were gonna be physical. We knew it was gonna be a challenge. I thought we were a little bit slow after we got the first goal, but we picked it up in the second half and finished the job.”Coming out of halftime, North Schuylkill found much-needed breathing room in the opening 10 minutes. Jaxon Sweeney made it 2-0 before Wesley Urban added another just two and a half minutes later, streaking down the middle of the field to receive a feed from Seth Cuff and slipping a touch past Brady Litchauer to push the lead to 3-0.“I thought we just needed to do a better job of playing the ball to our feet,” Todd said. “I thought we were getting a little too loose with our possession, giving it away cheaply, unnecessarily. And I thought once we really found our composure and started keeping the ball at our feet, driving at defenders instead of passing it off, I think we did a better job.”Maksim Leibig capped the scoring in the final minutes off an assist from Rylan Trautman to make it 4-0.Braiden Davis turned aside four shots in the shutout victory for the Spartans.Notably, the victory marked the first District 11 playoff win in program history.“It means a ton,” Todd said of the milestone. “I got here in 2023 and got started with this program, and I knew that it was achievable to be where we’re at today. We just needed to stay persistent, do the right things long term, and the results are starting to show.”North Schuylkill 8, Pleasant Valley 1The North Schuylkill girls’ soccer team cruised to an 8-1 victory over Pleasant Valley in the district quarterfinals Tuesday night.It didn’t take long for the Spartans to get on the board, as Abby Smith scored just 35 seconds into the match off an assist from Mylee Bindi to grab a quick 1-0 lead.From there, the floodgates quickly opened for North Schuylkill.“The girls came out ready to play,” North Schuylkill head coach Dave Reeder said. “They had it in their heads they were coming out here with a W and we were moving on, and it showed right from the get-go. I mean, 35 seconds in we scored our first goal, and they never let off the gas.”“It changed the mindset of the whole game,” Reeder added. “You know, it makes them backpedal right off the get-go, and our girls just stayed on top of it. I mean, they never let down. They played an excellent game. Best game of soccer we probably played all season.”Addie Urban found the back of the net twice while Bindi also scored, sending the Spartans into halftime with a commanding 4-1 advantage.North Schuylkill kept the pressure on after the break. Bindi scored two more goals in the second half to complete a hat trick, while Mia McDonald added a pair of goals to cap off the scoring.The Spartans will now take on Lehighton at 5 p.m. Thursday at Northern Lehigh High School. The Indians entered the District 11 Class AAA playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind Blue Mountain with an 11-6-1 record on the season.