Just over a month ago, Northwestern shut out Pine Grove in a physical regular season game.

It wasn’t clear then that the two teams would have another meeting, but they wound up as opponents again on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the District 11 Class 2A tournament.

The game wound up being every bit as physical as the first meeting. The two teams knocked each other around, and the Cardinals again failed to score as Northwestern advanced with a 3-0 win at Tiger Stadium.

The Cardinals (13-6-0) had a distinct advantage of the level of physical play through the first half of the game, but the Tigers, the No. 2 seed, were still able to find a couple goals along the way.

With 26:18 left in the first half, Jack Mauro pounded a shot from 35 yards out, placing it perfectly to the far side of the net and just under the crossbar where goalie Bryce Miller was unable to get to in his attempt to stop the shot.

“We started building up the sideline and there was a great pass through the middle, and I just saw an open shot and took it,” said Mauro of the game’s first goal. “It was getting pretty chippy, and I think the goal relieved a lot of pressure for us and ultimately set the precedent for the game.”

Senior Josh Zellner, possibly playing in his final game at Tiger Stadium, set up the next two goals for Northwestern (20-1-0). The first came with 10:16 left in the first half when he fired a crossing pass that Dart Delillo finished off to make it 2-0. Zellner combined with two teammates on the game’s prettiest goal early in the second half when he got the ball over to Matt Johnson - the team’s leading scorer. With a tough angle for a shot, Johnson dished off to Jake Van Lierop in front of the net, and the sophomore beat Miller with a shot that made it 3-0.

“Schuylkill League teams tend to be pretty physical, and we knew from the first time we played them that they are definitely a physical team,” said coach Nate Hunsicker. “We were able to match their physicality in the second half, and it was a different game for us.”

Pine Grove’s Luke Hlavaty and Garrett Brandt both received yellow cards late in the game, as did Northwestern Lehigh’s Caelan Stangil.

LAST TIME ... Northwestern’s regular season win over the Cardinals was by a 6-0 score.

NEXT ROUND ... The Tigers now face third-seeded Nativity in the semifinals. The two teams are unfamiliar with each other, but for Mauro, that really won’t be a factor. “We just have to go into the game and play the way we normally play,” he said. “If we do that, we should be alright.”

DYNAMIC DUO ... For the first time this season, the combination of Zellner and junior Matt Johnson have gone back-to-back games without either of them scoring a goal. While some may see it as a concern, Hunsicker sees it as a strength. “We are getting other players to step up, and tonight we proved that we can win with other guys scoring, and not just having the Matt and Josh show every game.”