OREFIELD — After nearly 170 minutes of scoreless soccer in two games, someone was going to need that one special play to break the invisible barrier on the front of the net and win the game.

For Northwestern Lehigh, it came in the form of a bicycle kick delivered by Jeff Garcia. Officially, Ryan Baker, who delivered a long throw-in for the Tigers, was credited with an assist, but another Northwestern player also had a hand in the play.

While the play took just a few seconds, there were several moving parts that played a role in its success. First was the throw-in from Baker, who delivered a strong, accurate toss that bounced a couple of times before it reached Garcia. “I just wanted to throw it as far as possible and hope that someone got a foot or something on it,” said Baker. “Luckily, Jeff Garcia did with a brilliant bicycle kick.”

Garcia had just a split second to contemplate how to play the ball and was thinking along the lines of a bicycle kick. Suddenly, he heard a voice; a loud voice, that said, “Bike it!”

The voice wasn’t in his head, it came from senior teammate Luke Bryan, who saw the play developing and knew it was the best chance that Northwestern had to break the scoreless tie.

“I saw it coming. We practice that every day in training, and to see it happen, it was unbelievable,” said Bryan of the play he called for. “I’m at a loss for words; it was an amazing strike.”

Even with the perfect throw and the confirmation on how to play the ball, Garcia still had to execute the difficult play and do it with a defender closing in on him. Garcia made the move, hit the ball squarely, and placed it perfectly, sending it out of the reach of Southern Lehigh goalkeeper Jack Cyr, who had seemingly knocked down everything else that the Tigers had kicked his way throughout the game.

Coach Nate Hunsicker had told his players after regulation that if they saw a chance to go for it. That advice was still in Garcia’s head when the play was developing.

“It’s like a dream. I still haven’t processed it, it’s amazement. It’s like a dream,” said Garcia, with the gold medal dangling from his neck. “I saw it bouncing and Luke Bryan screamed, ‘Bike it.’

“As he screamed, I thought ‘I’m going for it.’ I knew it had to happen.”

The goal set off a celebration both on the field, and in the stands, as players and fans realized what had just happened. While awaiting their medals, the players were still talking about the play. For his part, Hunsicker saw the play, but didn’t know that Bryan had played a part in helping it to come about.

“I didn’t know Luke said that to him,” said Hunsicker. “Luke has great soccer savvy out there, as does Jeff, and it was an incredibly well-finished goal, and an incredibly struck ball.”

The win helps to erase the memory of a 1-0 loss to Saucon Valley in last year’s district final, a loss that Garcia called “tragic.” That loss ended the season for Northwestern Lehigh, as it sought to get back to the state finals to go for gold instead of the two silver medals it had won in 2016 and 2017.

“We came here and did what we needed to do, and we’ve been taking it one game at a time. I think we overlooked Saucon last year and we came up short, but this year, we took one year at a time and we’re on our way for another state run, so I’m excited,” said Bryan of his team’s win.

“It’s huge on the heels of last year, falling short after we thought we thoroughly outplayed Saucon in that game, but that’s soccer,” said Hunsicker. “A lot of these boys wanted to regain that feeling of playing in a state tournament and the great memories they had of being there. From not having that opportunity last year, and now getting it back this year, is special.”