HERSHEY - In her last high school soccer game at Northwestern High School, a spot in the state championship was on the line for Sabrina Mertz, now a sophomore at Lehigh University. She and the Tigers couldn't reach that stage back in 2014, but were able to rewrite history for the Lady Tigers' program.

Almost two years later from that exact date, her brother, Dom Mertz, was able to make amends for that loss by helping the boys' team advance to the PIAA Class 3A state championship game. And while Northwestern's season came to a close in heartbreaking fashion on Friday night, history was rewritten for the Mertz household and the boys program."It's close to being up there to if we would've actually won," Mertz said. "It's been an amazing run. I couldn't have asked for better teammates. We just worked our butts off."Northwestern tied its longest state run in program history when it advanced to last Tuesday's semifinals against Gettysburg. That marked the second straight season the Tigers reached that level. But this time the Tigers came out on top, coming on a goal by none other than Mertz."When I got to these games, I'm a senior, you know what I mean," Mertz said. "It could be my last game, so I was just going out there and giving it my all. My teammates really hustled their butts off. Kenny scored an amazing goal in the district final, and he set me up against Gettysburg and that's how I scored."Mertz entered the state tournament with just six goals on the season, tied for fourth place on the Tigers. But since the state stage got underway, Mertz rose to the occasion when it mattered most.After Northwestern got through the first round with a 1-0 victory over Athens, the speedy midfielder punched in one of two goals in the Tigers' quarterfinal victory over District 3's Daniel Boone.Then, in a game his sister came up short in two years ago, Mertz played the role of hero. He scored the lone goal in the Tigers' 1-0 win against Gettysburg that advanced Northwestern to the first state championship game in team history."He's definitely had some really timely scoring for us, especially in the playoff run this year," head coach Nate Hunsicker said. "We're going to miss him immensely. He was definitely one of the vital pieces of our midfield. Just a great all-around soccer player."Mertz's postseason resurgence began in the District 11 Class 3A championship. Deadlocked in a scoreless game against Central Catholic, Mertz assisted on Kenny Gawelko's game-winning goal with under two minutes remaining in regulation that awarded Northwestern its second straight district championship.Sabrina, who recalls a mid-November loss two years ago to Villa Joseph Marie in the PIAA semifinals, remembers the heartbreak felt on that field in Exeter Township. So she's well aware of what her younger brother had to endure Friday night at Hershey Park Stadium, but is proud to see him be a part of history."I'm so incredibly proud and happy for my brother and that group of seniors," Sabrina Mertz said. "It's very deserving considering all the work they have put in over the years and how much of a tight knit group they are. It is such a great feeling to represent your school and community, and I am so glad that they were able to experience it and make school history.""Definitely watching Sabrina lose in the semifinals made me want to win in the semifinals even more, just for her and our family," Dom Mertz said. "She made history too. She made her mark on Northwestern, and I was going to try to make my mark on Northwestern and help our team go further than they ever had."Both have now cemented their mark in Northwestern history. It seems as if now, however, Dom holds a bit of friendly bragging rights in the Mertz household."I think he ended up with the bragging rights with a couple of extra medals, and coming here," Hunsicker said jokingly. "That will be an interesting Thanksgiving conversation."