It was only fitting that Ryan Baker jump-started Northwestern’s postseason.

That’s because Baker also played a major role in jump-starting the Tigers’ regular season.

Baker buried a rebound into an open net for the game’s first goal, and Northwestern went on to post a 3-1 Colonial League boys soccer quarterfinal round victory over Wilson on Saturday.

The fact that Baker got the Tigers’ offense rolling isn’t surprising, considering he’s been among the team’s top scorers this season.

What is surprising is that Baker is listed as a defender on the team’s roster.

“Yeah, that’s not the case anymore,” laughed Tiger coach Nate Hunsicker when asked about it after the game. “Ryan was one of the top defenders on the team last year, and started this season on defense as well.

“But we struggled a little bit early in the season, especially offensively. So we changed our formation and brought Ryan up to play forward. Since then, we’ve been a different team, and his play has been a major reason why.”

The Tigers, who had lost a total of just three games the previous two seasons combined, started this year with a 4-3 record that included a pair of shutouts. Since that point, Northwestern hasn’t lost, going 9-0-3.

“We did enough during the regular season to still have a chance to accomplish what we set out to do at the beginning of the season,” Hunsicker said. “We told the kids that it didn’t matter that we were the fourth seed (in the CL playoffs) or that we didn’t earn a first-round bye.

“It was a balanced league this year, and any of the four remaining teams can win it. It boils down to executing at a high level and playing your best soccer of the season – and if we play like we are capable, we feel like we have as good a shot as anyone.”

Leading 1-0 after Baker’s goal with 17:26 left in the opening half, the Tigers made it 2-0 when Luke Bryan scored off a corner kick with just 1:26 left before intermission.

If Baker has been the spark plug for Northwestern’s turnaround this season, then Bryan has been the engine.

“Luke has been fantastic this entire season,” said Hunsicker. “He controls play from his center midfield position and orchestrates what we do offensively. He’s definitely the straw that stirs the drink for us.”

Northwestern’s victory didn’t come without some adversity, however, as Wilson got right back into the game when Wilson Babano scored with just :25 left in the half.

“We had a total defensive collapse on their goal,” Hunsicker said. “That gave them the momentum heading into halftime.

“But I thought our kids rebounded well from that. We regained control of play at the start of the second half and never let them build on that momentum.”

The Tigers secured the victory when Josh Zellner added an insurance goal with 6:12 remaining in the game.

UP NEXT … No. 4 seed Northwestern will meet No. 1 seed Moravian Academy on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Northern Lehigh in the league semifinals.

HELPERS … Jason Blaine got the assist on Northwestern’s first goal, while Jeff Garcia assisted on the second and third goals.

RECORDS … Northwestern is now 13-3-3 on the season. It was 9-2-1 during the CL’s regular season. Wilson, which beat the Tigers during the regular season, is 13-5 overall. It was 9-3 during the CL regular season.