BLUE BELL, Pa. - In what can best be described as a "tumultuous" season, the Northampton Men's Soccer team persevered and fought through adversity to earn a postseason berth by upsetting Bucks County Community College, 1-0, on the final day of the regular season. 

Northampton's roller coaster season went from a 2-0-1 start, to a 4-game losing streak that saw the Spartans lose their head coach, to a 4-2 finish under interim Head Coach Brennan McCarthy, that allowed them to finish 6-6-1 overall and qualify for the Region XIX playoffs. "I can't say enough about these guys," remarked McCarthy, "it would have been easy for them to give up, given what they went through, but they stayed focused and bought in and today they gave everything they had."

After a 0-0 stalemate in the first half, sophomore Tyler Eichelbaum (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth ) found Andrew Tinna (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) on a long throw-in that Tinna was able to head into the net for the game's only score. 

The goal, with 40 minutes remaining in the game, held up as goalkeeper James D'Amato (Tobyhanna, PA/Pocono Mt. West ) came up big with the shutout and the Spartan defense stymied the potent Bucks offensive attack.  

"Anytime you play a Justin Burroughs coached team, you know they will be aggressive and play to the end," commented McCarthy, "so we knew we had to match their energy and play a full 90 minutes, and we did just that."

The victory moves Northampton to 6-6-1 overall, 6-6-1 in Region XIX and 5-5 in conference play. 

The loss drops Bucks to 10-6-1 overall, 9-5-1 in Region XIX and 6-3-1 in the EPAC. 

The Spartans will now wait for the seeding of the Region XIX tournament to find out their opponent and location for their playoff game on Saturday.  Pairings should be announced on Wednesday by 1pm.