DALLAS - A perfect evening for soccer produced a perfect result for the Northwestern girls on Tuesday.

The Tigers opened PIAA Class 2A State Tournament play with a 1-0 victory over host Dallas.

Kaitlyn Browning’s goal with 18:12 showing on the first-half clock provided all the scoring - but it wasn’t for a lack of opportunities by both teams.

The matchup between a pair of district champions provided thrill-a-minute action that didn’t stop until the final seconds ticked off the clock.

While Browning delivered the key blow offensively, Northwestern goaltender Naomi Glassberg was just as a big of a star.

Glassberg thwarted the Mountaineers at every turn to record the shutout.

“She’s amazing, irreplaceable back there,” is the way head coach Jordan Smith described his junior goalkeeper. “The comfort that the defense has with Naomi behind them is outstanding.”

Glassberg faced pressure all game long, but the heat really turned up in the closing minutes as Dallas went all out for the tying score. Three times with the clock winding down, she made huge plays to deny possible scores.

“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. She made some really big plays down the stretch.”

The Tigers looked much more quick-footed through the first half of play as they forced the action in the Dallas end. However, things started to turn around right after Browning’s goal.

Smith would later say that fatigue was starting to settle in as the first half was coming to a close, and Northwestern needed to get to the respite to regroup. Smith not only sensed it, but a 5-3 edge on shots on goal for Dallas bore that out. The Mountaineers had chances to forge a tie, but Glassberg and the crossbar prevented that from happening.

“We had chances in both the first and second half, but couldn’t convert,” said Dallas coach Nikki Pekarski. “I’m happy with how are kids battled when we fell behind. We kept going, and didn’t let up.

“Even though things didn’t go our way, we kept playing hard.”

So too did the Tigers, who also missed a few golden opportunities to get one into the back of the net.

Both goalies were at their best late in the contest, however, as they denied those scoring opportunities.

With under three minutes left, the Tigers’ Camryn Fitch got behind the Mountaineers’ defense and got off a shot on Dallas goalkeeper Morgan Solano from point blank range, but Solano turned it away.

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

While an insurance goal might have made things a lot less tense with the clock winding down, Glassberg made sure it wasn’t needed.

SAVIOR … Glassberg had seven saves, including a number of them that were quite spectacular in nature. She also did a nice job of coming out and denying Dallas crosses and corner kicks. Solano had four saves for the Mountaineers.

POSITIVE THINKING . Pekarski praised the Tigers for the standout performance, while parting with a positive note for her side: “We will be here every year; you can hold me to that.”

ONWARD … The win by the Tigers, who are now 20-1-1 on the season, sends them into Saturday’s quarterfinal round match against District 1 champ Radnor, a winner over Antietam on Tuesday night. Dallas ends the season at 16-4-2.