BLUE BELL, Pa. - The 10th ranked Northampton men's soccer team upset 7th ranked Montgomery County Community College, 2-1, on Friday afternoon in the Region 19 playoffs to advance to the Region 19 semifinals.

The Spartans struck first, as Ismaila Jallow (Gambia/West African International School) was fouled inside the box and Nic McCoy (Bangor, PA/Bangor) converted the ensuing penalty kick to give Northampton a 1-0 lead at the 30:20 mark.  The goal was McCoy's 9th of the season. 

Montgomery County started fast in the second half, pressuring the Northampton defense and earning their own penalty kick on a handball inside the box.  Niklas Taeger converted the PK to tie the contest at 1-1 with 32 minutes remaining in the contest. 

The Mustangs continued to pressure the Northampton goal, but the Spartans defense, behind Justin Shambo (Bath, PA/Northampton), Cael Anderko (Moore Township, PA/Northampton) and goalkeeper John Stier (Northampton, PA/Northampton), were up to the task, keeping Montgomery at bay.

With just over 20 minutes to play, Jaxson Berrier (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua) fired a long throw-in, deep into the Mustang box, to Ismaila Jallow (Gambia/West African International School) who flicked the ball to Brenden Nye (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua), who beat the Montgomery goaltender to give Northampton a 2-1 lead. 

The Mustangs continued their assault on the Northampton defense over the final 20 minutes, but the Spartans were able to hang on for the 2-1 victory.

"I couldn't be prouder of the guys," remarked Head Coach Mario Barrantes, "they fought for 90 minutes, they wanted this win, they did not want the season to end today."

The win moves Northampton into the Region 19 semifinals, where they will meet 2nd ranked RCSJ-Gloucester on Tuesday October 24th at 2pm in Sewell, NJ. 

Northampton improves to 7-6-1 on the season, while Montgomery finishes 12-3-1.