Despite having a lot of recent success under coach Nate Hunsicker, the one thing that had eluded the Northwestern Lehigh soccer team was a state championship.

The Tigers came close, taking silver medals at states in 2016 and 2017 and reaching the PIAA tournament in each of the past four seasons as District 11 champions - winning three class 3A titles and then taking the 2A championship in 2022.

This past season, everything came together to make for a perfect soccer storm.

The team came into the season with Hunsicker predicting that it would have the most potent offensive attack since he took over as coach prior to the 2011 season.

Hunsicker was right on the mark with his prediction, as the team scored an incredible 127 goals.

Northwestern not only repeated as district champions, but became state champions when it defeated Lancaster Catholic 2-1 in penalty kicks in the state final.

Josh Zellner has been in the thick of the team’s success throughout his high school career.

As a junior, he scored 17 goals and posted seven assists. But this season, Zellner took his offense to an even higher level - scoring 32 goals and adding 24 assists for an incredible 88 points - in leading the Tigers to the state title.

Zellner’s outstanding season earned him the 2022 Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Networks Boys Soccer Player of the Year award.

Zellner and junior Matt Johnson (34 goals, 16 assists) clicked on the field, with Johnson’s speed and Zellner’s size giving opposing defenses fits.

“We complement each other very well. He is faster than I am, and I’m taller than he is, so it gave us a couple of ways to attack,” said Zellner of working with Johnson, who was named the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Soccer Player of the Year in 2021. “We got to the point where we knew where each other was going to be, and we worked together really well to play to our strengths.”

The pair put together a streak of 13 straight games where at least one of them - and many times both - scored at least one goal in a game. When the streak was finally snapped, other players seamlessly took up the slack and provided offense, proving that the team was more than just the Zellner and Johnson show.

“We had a lot of talent, and different guys like Cayden (Fitch), Isaac (Frey), Dart (DeLillo), and Jake (Van Lierop) were always there to help out,” said Zellner. “The seniors on the team, Zach Grohotolski, Fitch, DeLillo, Damian Krapf, Jalen Lowthert, and myself had all been playing together for years, so we definitely had a familiarity with each other and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Zellner entered the varsity ranks at an interesting time. The team followed up its two appearances in the state finals with a 1-0 loss in the District 11 finals to Saucon Valley in 2018. That loss also snapped a 59-game unbeaten streak against Colonial League opponents, and kept the Tigers from a third straight trip to states. Zellner was part of the 2019 team that started the recent streak of district titles and a return to the PIAA tournament.

In his first two seasons, Zellner compiled 14 goals and 10 assists, before playing a larger offensive role as a junior and as a senior.

For Zellner, his love for soccer started early as he started playing when he was about five years old.

Once he started, he never stopped. Soccer as a sport was growing in popularity, and thanks to the emergence of the game and broadcasts of English Premier League, Zellner latched on as a fan of Manchester United.

“I played some baseball and basketball when I was younger, but I gave up basketball after my freshman year on the JV team so I could focus on soccer,” remembers Zellner. “Soccer was my favorite sport, and it was also the sport that I was best at and what I wanted to focus on playing in high school.”

Because of the success of the other players on the team, Zellner believes that the future remains bright for Northwestern. He spent time working with and talking to a lot of the underclassmen during his senior year, and sees how much talent will be still be remaining when this year’s seniors graduate.

“I think one thing they have to realize is that a lot of leadership came from the senior class and especially from Cayden Fitch, so they have to be leaders,” said Zellner. “That doesn’t mean just scoring goals, but really helping to lead the team and keep the team focused. There were guys ahead of me who did that and passed along that message to us, and it got us really far, so that’s what I tried to stress to the younger players.

“With the talent that they have and the great coaching that they have, they should be able to be successful again next season. They have guys who can step up to fill the holes on the team and with the success we had this season, they gained a lot of experience and confidence that they can use.”