ever title – Lehigh Valley Press

The Northampton Konkrete Kids fully intended to clinch this year's girls soccer district championship, and forward Brielle Szoke set up that intention with a goal in the first minute of the District XI Class 4A final on Oct. 31 when the K-Kids defeated Emmaus, 2-1, making history with the program's first-ever title.

"It was almost surreal," said Northampton coach Mike Missmer of the medal ceremony. "We had a belief that we were gonna win this game. We had a belief all through the tournament. We fixed up all the little things that were going wrong that are normal for a high school team, but credit to these girls because they did most of the fixing- the captains and the upperclassmen- and we just kind of came in, knowing this was gonna be our game, and we weren't gonna be denied, and they played like that, so I was so proud of them."

After Szoke's early goal for the K-Kids, teammate Victoria Phillips put Northampton ahead, 2-0, also in the first half.

"They sent me a ball, and there was this opening right in between the two center backs," Phillips said. "I took a touch in between them, and I looked up, and it was just me and the goalie. I had to choose a corner, so I went right into the left corner. It felt so amazing because these are the goals that count in this kind of game, so it felt so awesome that I could provide that for my team."

Coach Missmer had a specific message for the Kids at halftime.

"I said, 'When you go home, I want your parents to look at you and say I've never seen you play like that, and that's what would win us the game.' We don't want to act like we're up, and we don't want to change anything, so we want to make sure we're still attacking, still trying to smother, and still trying to be relentless."

Midway through the second half, Northampton goalie Emma Fry made a tremendous one-armed save over the top of the net.

"We just made one little mistake, and she was free on the back side, and I was able to clean it up," Fry said, "but every single person did so good the whole game. Juliana (Medei), Lindsay (Reimer), Anne (Beenders) and Megan (Weaver)- I would not want anyone else in front of me."

Chloe Watson's penalty kick came close for Northampton in the 48th minute and was then headed into the net, but offside was called because Emmaus goalie Ashley Stine never touched the ball.

Twenty minutes later, Emmaus forward Elizabeth Bender found the bottom right corner to put the Hornets on the scoreboard.

Sofia Isaksson was credited with the assist.

"We just had to get into the game, and we didn't find our way into the game until 60, 70 minutes in, so there were really no adjustments to make," said Coach Hain. "We just had to start playing and competing.

The one good thing about tonight is it's not the end of our season, and we get to keep playing, and to be honest, every day that we get to step on the field with these girls is a good day... But I give Northampton credit. They played good tonight."

Fry made 5 saves for the K-Kids, and Stine had 2 saves for the Hornets.

"It was electric," said Fry. "I think that we all knew we needed to lock it down the last two minutes...It's so special. We killed it at the end."

Phillips gave much credit to her team's defense.

"We knew there were certain aspects that we had to learn with their short corners and stuff to make sure we got in there and defend, and I feel like we pulled that through in this game today," she said. "We couldn't have done it without our back line. We defended like crazy."

Fry made another fantastic save in the 72nd minute as the Hornets pressed for a second goal.

"I think they're fast, and they're well-coached, and they've just got great players, so I think it was a matter of that kind of play was wearing on us, and they started to push players up," said Coach Missmer. "I made a couple of changes that weren't working out, so we kind of went back to normal, but the girls on the field figured it out. That's the beauty of this game. I can make changes and in my head have an ego and think I'm doing it right, but the reality is they play the game. There's no timeouts. They figured it out, and all the credit goes to them."

Both teams clinched berths in the state tournament, but Northampton's gold medalists will have home field advantage against a team from District 1 while Emmaus will travel to District 12.

"It hasn't really even set in yet, so I'm excited," Missmer said. "I'm really proud of the girls, and now we go after a state championship."