Norristown Area High School’s boy’s varsity soccer team played home against the Penn Wood Patriots last Wednesday, September 18, and gave it their all to defend their home field and win the game, 5-3. 

In the tight and fast-paced game, Norristown and Penn Wood were neck to neck for almost the whole first half. Ten minutes into the first half, Norristown, Diego Guzman scored the first goal of the game zooming past Penn Wood’s defense. Norristown, scoring 1-0, heated up, and the game intesified. 

With Penn Woods’ offense somewhat slacking at the beginning of the first half, the coach needed to come up with a better strategy to get his players’ heads back into the game, especially considering how well Guzman was playing. Penn Wood then struck back and scored twice in the first half, tying the score at 2. 

Guzman knew that he had to step up and guide his team to regain the lead. He scored his second goal of the game, crossing up defenders and taking the open shot. 

The first half also featured some confusion. There were mistakenly 12 players out on the field instead of 11, so another quick goal made by Norristown did not count. The first half ended with Norristown in the lead with 3-2.

After halftime, Penn Wood’s offense stepped would step it up, scoring the first goal of the second half and tying the game at 3. The Eagles quickly reacted, however, shutting down Penn Wood’s offense throughout the rest of the game. With less than 15 minutes of the game, Guzman stepped up once again, scoring with the help of an assist from his teammate, putting Norristown up 4 -3. “I did what I had to do to lead my team and win the game,” Guzman said of his performance. 

With 10 minutes remaining, one of Penn Wood’s star players, unfortunately, got injured, giving Norristown an opportunity to step up and win the game. Norristown took advantage and scored with 2 minutes left of the game, bringing the score 5-3. Penn Wood would not have enough time to make a comeback. Norristown Varsity Boys Soccer Team took the victory and protected their home field against Penn Wood.