HARRISBURG, Pa. - Sophomore Tyler Garr scored 3 goals to lead Northampton to a 6-1 victory over Harrisburg Area Community College on Tuesday afternoon, clinching NCC's first playoff berth since 2010.

Garr got the Spartans on the board with two goals within a 70 second span of the first half, with assists from Josh Houck and John Hapes to give Northampton a 2-0 halftime advantage.

Garr found Mike Gaudette 4:45 into the second stanza to give NCC a 3-0 lead.  Gaudette then returned the favor when his shot bounced off the Harrisburg goalkeeper and Alex Rubino tapped the ball home for a 4-0 Northampton advantage. 

Garr recorded his second assist of the game when he found John Hapes who struck a terrific bending shot to the far post to make the score 5-0.

The Hawks got on the board at the 39:00 minute mark when Seth Reed outran the NCC defense on a cleared corner kick and beat Ronnie Mendizabal (3 saves) with a 40 yard volley that just cleared under the crossbar.

Garr completed the hat trick with 4 minutes remaining when he beat 3 HACC defenders and beat the goalie to the far post for NCC's 6th and final tally.

The win sends Northampton to 6-7-1 overall and 6-3-1 in conference play, assuring them of a berth in the upcoming Region XIX playoffs.

"I'm so excited for the guys," remarked Head Coach Joe Heitczman, "our goal all season has been to qualify for the postseason and the guys have worked very hard for it ... now we need to continue to push over our final three games and finish up strong."

Harrisburg falls to 0-9 in confrence and 0-10-0 overall.

The Spartans have a quick turnaround as they travel to Blue Bell, PA on Wednesday to face Montgomery County Community College.

STATISTICS
Shots:  NCC 17 / HACC 4
Corners: NCC 5 / HACC 0
Saves: NCC 3 / HACC 11
Fourls: NCC 4 / HACC 1