After suffering a heartbreaking loss in the Colonial League finals, Southern Lehigh High School boys’ soccer went on to defeat the top three teams in the AAA District XI tournament, destroying any doubts about the quality within the team.

The team pushed mightily through the Colonial League, defeating Salisbury to secure a spot in the playoffs, and then beat Palisades in the semi-finals. In the finals they faced Moravian.  It was well-fought, and the two teams battled all game. Moravian was the victor in the end, thanks to a late penalty kick making the game 2-1.

Southern Lehigh then moved on to districts as the sixth-seat underdog in AAA. The Spartans had never won a AAA District XI title and were not expecting too much, but they still went in with high hopes and hunger for a win.

Southern Lehigh defeated Bangor 1-0 in the first round and moved right on to the third seat, Pocono Mountain East, in the tournament. The Spartans pulled off a surprising victory booked at 1-0, advancing them to the semi-finals against the second seat, Parkland.

The stage was set at J. Birney Crum stadium, and Southern Lehigh was set to play the EPC giants, Parkland High School. The game was intense. The Spartans stunned Parkland with an early goal and then finished them off late in the second half. They had now pulled off two massive upsets and were on their way to the AAA finals.

The Southern Lehigh boys’ soccer team now had a shot to grasp their first-ever AAA District final, and to accomplish this task they had to defeat the number one seat, Emmaus. They pulled it off in an exciting and suspenseful match, with a final score of 2-1 in favor of Southern Lehigh.

The players were ecstatic and were overjoyed with their victory.

“It’s the classic underdog story,” junior captain Jacob Cassel said. “I had never felt better, and it was the best feeling of my life.”

Senior captain Logan Koch said the team “really stepped it up” to bounce back from the defeat by Moravian in the Colonial League final.

“I think we practiced harder, focused more during warmups, and played the games with nothing to lose,” Koch said. “Being the underdog, we knew we would have to play our best to compete with the big schools like Parkland and Emmaus, and I think we did just that. It’s an incredible feeling to be District XI AAA Champions and make school history.”

The 2014 team is the first Colonial League and Southern Lehigh team to win a AAA title in District XI.

Throughout the playoffs the team received strong and consistent support from the community. There was a student section at every game, always cheering for Southern Lehigh.

“The atmosphere at the games [was] unbeatable,” junior Ryan Heurich, a regular member of the student section said.  “I love[d] watching my fellow peers advance through districts.”