Playing in states often brings matchups against teams who aren’t quite as familiar with each other.

Fortunately, Northwestern boys soccer coach Nate Hunsicker was able to find some video of Palmyra, so that his team knew what to expect when they took to the field Tuesday night at Tiger Stadium in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

The Cougars came out playing very physical, but Northwestern was ready for it. And when the dust cleared, the Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 overtime victory after Lucas Van Lierop scored the winning goal.

“We got pretty much what we expected out of them,” said Hunsicker about their opponent. “We saw that they liked to play a physical game, and we figured that they would come in and try to take it to us right away.”

The physical play nearly got out of hand midway through the second half when Palmyra’s Brayden Sunho pushed a Northwestern player to the ground out of bounds. Nearby players from both teams started to run toward the area, but referees got between the players to stop anything from happening and quickly gave Sunho a yellow card.

Later in the half, Colin Coffield had two near misses for the Tigers (16-4-1). Coffield missed time during the season with an injury and played the game with a brace on his left leg. He was on the receiving end of a couple of hard plays during the game, but came nowhere near slowing down.

His first opportunity initially looked like a goal, but the play was waved off by an offside call. Not long after that, Cayden Fitch played a ball to the near side of the goal and Coffield headed the pass toward the net, but it bounced off the post and rolled away.

“He empties the tank,” said Hunsicker of Coffield. “I ask the kids every game that we step on the field, if I can get 80 minutes out of them - well, tonight, he gave me a little bit more - and he always responds that way.”

In the first overtime, Palmyra (16-4-1) caught a second wind and came out launching some lasers at goalie Mason Crocco. Less than two minutes into OT, Crocco made a diving stop to block a shot, and then while lying on the ground, deflected another shot out of bounds.

“That first shot was point blank and one-on-one,” Hunsicker said of Crocco’s saves. “He was as good as always in goal tonight for us.”

Just as it appeared that the teams were headed for a second overtime period, Northwestern rallied to put pressure on backup goalie Cole Souder, who had come in when starter Manny Rose went out with an injury in the first half. The ball bounced around the front of the goal as several Tiger players converged to make a play. The ball went to Souder’s right and into the back corner of the net as the celebration erupted.

“Lucas claimed it, and nobody argued, so I guess it was him,” Hunsicker said when asked about the goal.

“One of my teammates flicked it on goal and the goalie bobbled it a bit. I was able to come in and hit it, and I got it just before it went into the goalie’s hands,” said the senior defender of his winning goal. “I actually got it with my thigh because it was higher, and I couldn’t get a foot on it.”

D-FENCE ... Both teams showed just how well their defenses can prevent goals and dominated the play throughout the game. Shots on goal favored the Cougars by a slight 4-3 margin. Palmyra’s approach was to shut down the big offensive guns like Matt Johnson, who had two goals and an assist in districts, and Josh Zellner, who had a goal and an assist in the district final when the Tigers beat Southern Lehigh 3-1. Coffield had two goals, one coming on a penalty kick, in the 2-1 win over East Stroudsburg South in the semifinals.

GOLDEN ARCHES FOR DOUBLE GOLD ... Call it a bribe, call it an incentive, call it whatever you will. Hunsicker told his players that if the team won gold medals in both the Colonial League and District 11 playoffs, that he would treat the team to McDonald’s Happy Meals. He made good on the promise Tuesday by ordering 30 Happy Meals at McDonald’s for the team. No word on what toy was in the Happy Meals. Hunsicker has now promised the team he would spring for adult meals for everyone if they win gold in the PIAA tournament.