Sometimes, bad intel can be worse than no intel. Just ask Kelly Bleam.

The Northwestern girls soccer coach sent her players into the first round of the PIAA Class 3A tournament on Tuesday with a game plan based on a scouting report she was able to get in the days leading up to the game. The scouting report couldn’t have been more wrong, leading Bleam to switch things up at halftime against Archbishop Ryan.

It didn’t lead to any goals, but at least her team didn’t allow any goals through regulation and two overtime periods.

Northwestern won the game on penalty kicks, with all five players scoring to win the PK phase, 5-3, and the game, 1-0.

“We prepared very differently than what we needed to,” said Bleam. “At halftime, we made some adjustments. Give the girls kudos for picking up the quick changes, and out they went and they executed a brilliant second half.”

The first half was played primarily in the middle of the field. Archbishop Ryan used controlled passes to look to move closer to the goal, while Northwestern was relying on playing the long ball and letting its forwards work their magic.

The advantages in the first half were all on Archbishop Ryan’s side of the ledger, with the Rag Dolls getting two first-half corner kicks. The first didn’t result in much, but on the second kick, junior Kaitlin Brace had an opportunity for a shot, but it was denied by a Northwestern defender.

At halftime, Bleam went to work to explain the new game plan to her team, making quick changes in how Northwestern (17-2-1) was approaching the game both offensively and defensively, basing it on what she was seeing on the field and not on the errant scouting report.

The Tigers played a much crisper game in the second half and found some scoring opportunities, but were unable to cash in on any of them.

Sophia Motolese - who specializes in placing corner kicks in the perfect spot - had three corner kick opportunities in the second 40 minutes, all of which were either just off the mark for a teammate to play in, or were saved by goalkeeper Joyce Emma.

In overtime, Northwestern goalie Naomi Glassberg put on one of her displays. While she was strong during regulation, she got even tougher in overtime. Her best performance came when Kylie Davis delivered a well-placed corner.

“I got a touch on it and it actually landed on the girl’s foot, so I just put my body behind it,” Glassberg said of the save, which she wound up wedging between her legs before she could put her hands on the ball.

When the second overtime ended, the game headed for penalty kicks, and Bleam sent Bailey Scheffler, Kayla Bardonner, Lexi Bleam, Kylie Zentz and Motolese to take shots.

Scheffler hit her shot, while Chelsea Ritter missed the first shot for the Rag Dolls, giving the Tigers a 1-0 edge. Bardonner, Bleam and Zentz all made their shots with their Archbishop Ryan counterparts following suit, leaving the penalty phase at 4-3 in favor of Northwestern heading into the final round.

Motolese approached the ball quickly and froze Emma, who started to move right as the ball sailed to her left and to the back of the net for the win.

“We practice them [PKs] pretty often, and the way we start is anybody who wants to take a PK takes it,” explained coach Bleam. “We have four seniors who are all solid, and they all wanted to take kicks tonight, and then Sophia is probably our best scorer and she was confident, so we had her kicking fifth.”

A DECADE OF GOLD

... Northwestern will now play Villa Joseph Marie, winners of the District 1 championship. Ironically, Villa Joseph Marie won the district title - its 10th straight - on penalty kicks while the Tigers were playing Archbishop Ryan. The Tigers and Jems will meet Saturday with the time and place to be determined.