The seniors on the Northwestern Lehigh soccer team are looking to boldly go where they have not been able to go before - the state semifinals.

Its first step there came in the form of a 2-1 Class 2A win over Holy Redeemer Tuesday night at Tiger Stadium.

The next step comes Saturday when they face Wyomissing in the quarterfinals, where the Tigers (18-5-1) have stalled in each of the past three seasons.

Northwestern started its game against Holy Redeemer the same way it has started each of its past two games, with goals by sophomore Brook Balliet.

In each of the past two games, it was Sammy Bardonner who fed Balliet, but this time around it was Katie Brensinger who tapped the ball over to Balliet for the opening goal.

Before Holy Redeemer could get itself settled down, Balliet took a feed from Cammy Fitch and made it 2-0 just 1:31 after her opening tally.

“Getting two goals so quickly just really picks up my energy,” said Balliet. “I just want to go, and keep going at that point.”

Brensinger had a big game herself. In addition to the assist, she looked to have scored even before Balliet’s first goal, but the officials waved off the goal for an offside call.

Later, she fired a shot that goalkeeper Amira Pirron was able to kick away. Late in the game, Brensinger had a one-on-one with Pirron and was pulled down in the box by a defender, but no call was made on the play.

Tigers goalkeeper Naomi Glassberg also had a big game.

On a sequence in front of the goal, Quinn Conrey kicked a ball away from the goal, but a Holy Redeemer player was able to play the ball back on net immediately. Glassberg made the save and fell on the ball to prevent any further issues.

“Our whole defense helps me out a lot,” said Glassberg. “The last two games, I have faced more shots than I have all year, but they have been so solid and have kept the shots to a minimum. They’re awesome.”

Later in the game, one of the defenders - Abby Pomajevich - came up with a defensive save as Glassberg returned to goal from making a save on a prior shot.

With 23:13 left in regulation, Holy Redeemer (14-4-1) recorded its first goal when Avery Kozerski was able to sneak a shot past Glassberg to make it a 2-1 game.

The rest of the game became more physical, but Northwestern was able to prevent any more damage and kept the score at 2-1.

“I think for part of the second half we stopped playing to win and started to play a little hesitant,” said coach Jordan Smith.

“We weren’t being as aggressive. We were sitting back a little too much, and whenever you let them bring the play to you, you’re on your heels and nothing good is going to come out of that. We always want to stay the aggressor.”

IT’S HOT OUTSIDE … The outside wings for Northwestern – Balliet and Paige Bissell – have been on fire in the playoffs. The two sophomores each have five goals in the postseason for the Tigers. “They’ve been amazing,” said Smith. “Part of that is how we are trying to play, but they have to be in the right spot and have to be able to finish, and they have done a phenomenal job.”

A CLOSE SHAVE … Making good on a promise to let his players shave his head if they won the District 11 championship, Smith showed up with the new hairstyle for Tuesday night’s game. The price for a state championship will be his beard. It won’t be cut off, but instead will be dyed in a color and/or design chosen by the players. The current plan is to add orange to the black beard to give the appearance of tiger stripes.

SATURDAY … Northwestern will face Wyomissing (20-1) at a neutral site in the quarterfinals. Wyomissing downed Lewisburg in the first round of states. The game will most likely be played at a location in District 3, as Wyomissing is the higher of the two seeds. The time and exact location will be announced at a later date.