Northern Lehigh’s boys soccer team got a taste of the playoffs a year ago.

The Bulldogs are back in the postseason. And they’ve arrived with a little more bite.

A return trip the District 11 playoffs started with the program’s first ever postseason victory, as Northern Lehigh rolled past Williams Valley 10-1 in the Class 1A quarterfinal Tuesday.

“This program has been through a lot of down times. A lot of down times,” said Bulldogs coach John F. Murray. “There was a period where they only won two games in five years. Last year, we snuck into the playoffs and it was grand for us. It blew the doors off; nobody expected it. It was nice and gave us a lot of momentum.

“This year, we hoped to get back. We snuck in as the sixth seed last year, now we’re the fourth seed, we have a home game and it’s the first playoff win for the boys soccer team in their history. It’s been great for the program, and we’re hoping to keep up the momentum.”

Northern Lehigh (7-11-1) struck for three goals in the first 10 minutes with freshman Kellen Bauer, sophomore Chayce LoPinto and junior Logan Berfield each finding the back of the net.

“We were working on coming out and being explosive and getting them down early,” said Murray. “We thought that would really work to our advantage, and it did. It was great.”

Berfield and LoPinto each scored twice in the first half to help the Bulldogs build a 5-0 lead.

“It kind of feels surreal,” said Berfield. “My freshman year we were fielding eight players ... and it was just 10-0 after 10-0. It just feels amazing to even make it back to back years. And our first home game, we secured a win. The whole team came together, we had great chemistry, everyone was playing real soccer, not just kicking the ball. We were able to put everything together.”

The momentum carried into the second half as freshman Anthony Hanna, senior Jackson Hunsicker and junior Michael Wilk all scored to push the lead to 8-0.

The fifth-seeded Vikings (7-12) spoiled the shutout when Jeffry Rautzhan converted a penalty kick with 8:29 remaining in the contest.

Hunsicker scored again off a corner with around five minutes to play, and LoPinto added his third of the game off the fourth assist of the night from Ethan Moore in the waning minutes to make it 10-1.

“It feels good to have everybody score, too, especially the seniors, said LoPinto. “Because they went most of their career not scoring, and they were able to get goals in this game. It feels really good.”

One of two seniors, along with goalie James Stock, Hunsicker also added an assist on Wilk’s goal.

“Everybody has a defined role, and they have a specific position that we’ve been working on all year to make sure they understand it,” said Murray. “Jackson Hunsicker, a senior who hadn’t scored in his four years and he’s played every minute of every game for the last four years, and he came up big here and he gets two goals and an assist. So that was awesome. It was great to be able to reward him in a game like this.

“But they usually have a specific spot, and we make sure that they know that really well and that has really helped us throughout the season.”

SPREADING THE WEALTH

... While the Bulldogs had six different players score, they also had plenty of help to facilitate the offense. In addition to Moore’s four assists, LoPinto, Hunsicker, Berfield, Bauer and sophomore Zaid Salih all had assists.

GOT THEIR NUMBER

... Northern Lehigh’s previous high for goals in a game came in a 5-1 win over Williams Valley in the regular season finale on Oct. 11.

SOLID FOUNDATION ... With Stock and Hunsicker as the team’s only seniors, the Bulldogs’ starting lineup Tuesday also featured three juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

STOPPING SHOTS

... Stock made six saves in the contest for Northern Lehigh.

MOVING ON

... Northern Lehigh will face top seed Moravian Academy on Thursday in the semifinals. The Lions posted a 6-0 win in their previous meeting this season on Sept. 26.