FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — Fans of The A-Team television show will remember the phrase: “I love it when a plan comes together.”

So do the Northwestern girls, who had a good plan for their first goal in the PIAA quarterfinals at North Schuylkill High School Saturday night.

So good, in fact, that they went right back to it for their second goal.

With the A-Team style defense that the Tigers have, the first goal would have been enough, but why not score four just to make sure you get the win.

Northwestern shut out Central Columbia 4-0 to advance to the semifinals, where it will face Archbishop Wood on Tuesday.

Just 3:11 into the game, the Tigers collected their first corner kick of the game and executed it perfectly. Sophia Schaffer put the ball directly in front of the net where Juliet Snyder used her size and leaping ability to head the ball past goalie Braelyn Moran for the game’s first goal.

Perhaps the Jays forgot what Northwestern did on its first corner, or more likely, they just couldn’t stop it. Coming from the opposite corner for its second corner kick of the game, Schaffer played an almost mirror image of her first kick and Snyder played her part perfectly to make it 2-0 with 25:50 still left in the first half.

“We always try to finish corners and a lot of the time I’m there, I’m one of the targets,” said Snyder of her role in the plays. “When we score early like that, the momentum starts to drop for the other team, and we have the intensity to keep adding on and it gives us an advantage.

“More than anything, we want to score early.”

With the early lead, Northwestern’s defense moves in like ants at a picnic and keeps their opponents at bat, and the Tigers did just that for the rest of the game.

Even with senior Marly DeLillo out with an injury, the defense finds a way to make it all work. Earlier in the season, junior Dylan Ritter was out with an injury, and sophomore Maddy Milks filled in without missing a beat. Milks is again the one who got called upon to fill in when DeLillo went down, and yet again has gotten the job done.

“She (Milks) got a ton of minutes filling in for Dylan, so she had gotten some experience,” said coach Jordan Smith. “When Marly went down, it was a pretty smooth transition to slide Sophia (Sikora) into the center and have Milks outside; she has lots of speed and is really smart.”

“The early playing time helped a lot, especially in skill development and developing chemistry with my teammates,” said Milks. “I was somewhat prepared for it and with the training that coach Smith gives us, I was ready to step in and do whatever we needed.”

The fact that Central Columbia was able to get some offensive pressure gave goalie Olivia Reinhart the opportunity to flex her muscles a little in goal.

The senior keeper tipped a shot over the crossbar, made diving stops, came out of the goal to stop shots, and just generally turned away the Jays offensive efforts throughout the game.

Needing to push for offense, the Blue Jays looked to put more pressure up front. In doing so, they fell into the same trap that a lot of teams have fallen into against NW.

Schaffer and Snyder switched roles when Snyder played a pass forward to Schaffer, who saw an opening between two defenders and put a shot to the back of the net on the left side of the goal leaving Moran to dive but come up empty.

Finally, with just 3:21 left to play, Northwestern played a ball about 10 yards out from the goal and Bella Smith poked it over to Schaffer, who again was able to beat Moran and give Northwestern a 4-0 lead.

TAKE THAT … It was two years ago when Central Columbia beat Northwestern in the PIAA semifinals at Hazleton High School. Last season, the Tigers eliminated Central Columbia in the state quarterfinals, and in two regular season meetings since that first loss, Northwestern has defeated the Blue Jays in both games. The latest win over Central extends the Tigers state-record winning streak to 54 games.

TUESDAY … The game against Archbishop Wood will be played on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Upper Perkiomen High School. The Vikings defeated Allentown Central Catholic in the first round of states, and then dumped Trinity in Saturday’s quarterfinals to reach the semis, reversing the result from the 2024 quarterfinal round.

N’western 4, Cent. Columbia 0

Northwestern 2 2 - 4

Cent. Columbia 0 0 - 0

Goals: Northwestern - J. Snyder 2, Schaffer 2; Central Columbia - None; Saves: Northwestern - Reinhart 6; Central Columbia - Moran 7.

Records: Northwestern (26-0); Central Columbia (19-4).