Matt Johnson earned a starting job with the Northwestern Lehigh soccer team this season.

The sophomore forward then went out and scored a team-high 23 goals, while adding 10 assists on his way to being named the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

How does an underclassman with limited varsity experience not only earn a starting job on a team that has a history of winning, but quickly become one of the leaders on that team and one of the best in the area?

Part of the formula is actually experience. Johnson already has nearly 10 years of soccer experience to draw from after starting to play the game when he was about 5 years old.

The other part of the success comes from studying the game and other players. He credits much of his success this season to watching players ahead of him and picking up tips and tricks from them along the way.

The combination of experience and being a student of the game led Johnson to become the player that he showed on the field this past fall.

In his freshman season, Johnson played in nine of the team’s 21 games and picked up five goals and six assists while biding his time waiting for his chance to play full-time.

When he was not on the field, Johnson spent his time studying the moves of the players and watching how they conducted themselves in games and practices and set about emulating them.

One of his favorite players to study was Jeff Garcia, one of the better players in the Northwestern Lehigh program. Garcia graduated last spring, and Johnson is putting what he learned into his game helping to replace the production that Garcia gave the team.

“I knew coming in as a freshman that it was going to be a challenge for me,” Johnson said. “This year, I just knew what I had to do, and I had the experience from last year, and I gave it everything I had.

“I saw a lot of different players and took bits of my game from their game, especially Jeff Garcia. I saw what he could do with the ball and learned from that, and now I can do a lot of those things.”

One advantage that Johnson has in his game is great speed. He was one of the fastest players on the field - but it’s not all just natural talent.

“I work on my speed a lot, at least once a week, but I prefer to work on it every day if I can,” said Johnson, who admits he is still learning some finer points of the game. “I’m always looking to be faster and push my limit even higher. The older players helped me a lot to get to where I was. They had a big impact on me.

“I have always spent a lot of time working out with my older brother because I play offense and he plays defense, so it’s a good brother-versus-brother matchup.”

Johnson is not resting on his laurels from the 2021 season, and has definite plans for things to work on as he is preparing for next fall and his junior season.

“I’m trying to get better at foot skills because I have the ball control,” Johnson said. “I also want to improve my soccer IQ on the field.

“That’s really what I am going to spend the offseason doing. I think that will make me a better player next year.”

Northwestern had to overcome a rash of injuries to leading players throughout the season, and Johnson seized the opportunity to step into a leadership role and help to fill the production that was lost to injuries, keeping the team competitive until they could get healthy.

Once seniors Mason Brensinger and Colin Coffield were back on the field, the Tigers went on to win both Colonial League and District 11 championships.

That feeling of winning and contributing to a winning team is something that Johnson relishes and looks forward to in the future.

“I was comfortable with stepping up,” said Johnson. “I knew that I had to step up because the team needed me, and I felt I had the ability to do it and help the team. It was really all of the players working together, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to have around me and help me.

“After the 9-1 win over Palisades in the league quarterfinal game, I knew that we were up and running. We all had a lot of intensity, and we all wanted to keep going. It was great to have all of the fans and all of the parents helping out, too. We have a great student section at games, and it was great to have them there to celebrate with us.”