Northern Lehigh’s boys soccer team took another step forward in the growth of its program on Monday.

The Bulldogs went toe-to-toe against Colonial League rival Notre Dame and put on one of the best efforts that head coach Jay Ohlund has seen from his team all season.

“I can’t say enough about the guys today and the effort they put in,” he said. “Every single person that stepped foot on that field, they gave everything they had, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.

“They did everything we’ve talked about from day one here in terms of being disciplined, playing smart soccer.”

The Crusaders entered Monday’s contest having dominated Nolehi over the years. Since 2007, the Crusaders had won every contest between the two teams, but the Bulldogs finally snapped that streak with a 1-1 tie.

“We were inches away several times from getting that winning goal, but we’ve got to hold our heads high with a draw against a team that we’ve never come close to even competing with traditionally,” Ohlund said.

While ND produced a majority of the scoring chances, both teams were evenly matched with momentum shifting back and forth throughout the entire affair.

The Crusaders struck first nearly six-and-a-half minutes in when LJ Simon got his head on a corner kick from Liam Behrens for the redirection.

Slightly over nine minutes later, the Bulldogs knotted things up thanks to freshman Ryan Barchini. Following a throw-in from Kellen Bauer, ND goalkeeper Cooper Simon stopped the first shot that came off the scramble, but Barchini followed up on the rebound for the tying score.

While the remainder of the contest was scoreless, both teams earned multiple quality chances to take the lead.

The visiting Crusaders’ best opportunity came off another corner kick when a shot hit the crossbar and bounced straight down, but Nolehi goalkeeper Gus Rosario grabbed it off the goal line to preserve the tie.

Notre Dame later hit the goal post off a free kick in the second half, and Rosario stood his ground making eight saves overall.

“Staying on my toes and making sure I’m ready and everything, that’s the key,” Rosario said. “We were stopping Number 10 (Behrens), which was our main person to stop. I’m proud of these guys and their efforts. They stopped him well, and we were able to keep that tie. So I’m happy with our performance.”

The Bulldogs may not have earned a large quantity of chances, but two of their best came late in the second half. A give-and-go with Onsard Charles and Bauer led to a golden opportunity for Charles, but his shot narrowly missed the target. Then with under two minutes remaining, Bauer’s centering pass was cut off by Simon to deny a possible tap-in goal.

When the final horn sounded, many of the NL players were exhausted and seemingly disappointed that they weren’t able to capitalize in the final minutes. Breaking a long losing streak against an annual powerhouse in the Colonial League is a major step forward for the program, but players believed they were capable of more than earning a tie.

That attitude is a testament to how the standards and expectations have changed at Northern Lehigh.

“I came on as an assistant two years ago with coach (Tristan) Moore, and under his leadership, we kind of wanted to build a more positive team culture,” coach Ohlund said. “That was something that was lacking here in the past, and I think we started that and we’ve just continued this season.

“Guys want to fight for each other. They want to play together, and we don’t drop our heads when stuff gets hard. The effort they gave, I love everything about what we showed today as a team.”

MAINTAINING A NEW STANDARD ... Since starting the season 0-3, Northern Lehigh has since gone 5-1-3, and is currently ranked high in the Colonial League standings and in contention for the District 11 Class 2A playoffs. The Bulldogs look to continue their success when they host Palisades on Wednesday, and finish the week at Pen Argyl on Friday.

Northern Lehigh 1, Notre Dame 1

Notre Dame GP 1 0 - 1

Northern Lehigh 1 0 - 1

Goals: Notre Dame GP - LJ Simon 1; Northern Lehigh - Ryan Barchini 1; Assists: Notre Dame GP - Liam Behrens 1; Northern Lehigh - None; Saves: Notre Dame GP - Cooper Simon 1; Northern Lehigh - Gus Rosario 8; Shots: Notre Dame GP - 9; Northern Lehigh - 4; Corners: Notre Dame GP - 8; Northern Lehigh - 5.

Records: Notre Dame GP (5-3-4; 5-2-3); Northern Lehigh (5-4-3; 5-3-2).