Those who had to leave Wednesday night’s quarterfinal soccer game at halftime didn’t miss any goals.

That’s because Northwestern’s starters got their work done early. and then turned things over to the younger players as the Tigers took a 7-0 win over Pen Argyl at Tigers Stadium to move on to the semifinal round of districts.

Junior Cole Mertz had another big night with two goals and two assists to put him at 39 goals this season.

It was Mertz who got the opening goal when Lyle Good found him open on the right side and goalie Trexler Moore moved to that side of the goal, only to have Mertz take his shot to the far side of the goal and out of reach for Moore.

With just under 19 minutes left in the opening half, Northwestern put together a 2:30 span during which Logan Mesics, Caelan Stangil and Mertz all scored to take a 4-0 lead and put the Green Knights on their heels.

Mesics’ goal came off of a corner play with Mertz feeding the ball in front of the net where Mesics headed it past Moore. Stangil used somewhat of a trick shot when Moore came toward him and went to the ground in an attempt to make a play on the ball, only to have Stangil pop the ball over the goalie and then beat a defender to the ball to tip it into the back of the net.

With 16:31 left, Mertz got his second goal of the night to cap the scoring spree.

Mesics, the team’s leading goal scorer, added to the score when he fired a shot past Moore for his 45th goal of the season. Before long, Mesics was threatening again, but lost his angle for a shot and went to Plan B, which was to get the ball to senior classmate John Kelley, and let him finish off the play and put the Tigers up 6-0 with 7:09 still remaining before halftime.

“Mesics usually comes down and crosses it, and we don’t always hit, but I saw the ball and was right there for a rebound and had a good angle to hit it in,” said Kelley. “That just worked out for us, and we were all in the right spot to make it work.”

After seeing Mertz and Mesics both get two goals, Stangil wasn’t going to be outdone and with 2:31 remaining before halftime, he was able to get a shot past Moore to continue the first half scoring onslaught for Northwestern and send his team into the break with a 7-0 lead.

The game marked the 10th straight game that Mertz, Mesics and Stangil all had at least one goal for the Tigers. The trio have scored 118 goals this season.

“They’ve been playing really well off of one another all year,” said coach Nate Hunsicker. “Then we got some additional scoring beyond that with John (Kelley) getting one tonight, and Lyle (Good) mixes in some scoring for us. Having those three guys on the attack is quite the weapon for us.”

LIONS AND TIGERS, OH MY! ... Having Northwestern Lehigh (21-1) and Moravian Academy (13-5-1) face each other in the postseason is basically an annual event. With the Tigers beating Pen Argyl, and the Lions beating Notre Dame of Green Pond in another quarterfinal game, the two teams are paired up in the semifinals — set for Tuesday. During the regular season, Moravian Academy was one of three teams to lose to Northwestern by less than three goals, and one of just two teams to take them to overtime.

Northwestern 7, Pen Argyl 0

Pen Argyl 0 0 - 0

Northwestern 7 0 - 7

Goals: Pen Argyl - None; Northwestern - Mertz 2, Mesics 2, Stangil 2, Kelley 1; Saves: Pen Argyl - Moore 7; Northwestern - Carl 0, Schmoyer 0.

Records: Pen Argyl (8-10-1); Northwestern (21-1).