DILLSBURG — Northern York had not tasted defeat all year until Tuesday night.

But the Polar Bears met their match in a District 3 Class 4A girls soccer first-round game — Chambersburg was able to spring the upset, 1-0, over the No. 3 seed.

Ashley Mitchell

“We are thrilled with the win — we really dug deep tonight,” Trojan coach Paul Unruh said.

No. 14 seed Chambersburg (10-6-1) will play on the road at No. 11 seed Central Dauphin (11-7) on Saturday in a quarterfinal game. The Polar Bears (16-1-1) were eliminated.

The Trojans used a defensive set-up to contend with the high-scoring Polar Bears, and when they took the lead, they frustrated Northern even more.

Unruh said, “We were sitting back, absorbing their pressure, when they made kind of an unhurried back pass. Bree (Paetow) got to the ball ahead of their player, got behind the defense and placed her shot just inside the far post.”

That came about 10 minutes in. Chambersburg’s defense then settled in, and in 70 more minutes of playing time, did not allow a goal.

Goalkeeper Ashley Mitchell made 9 saves to preserve the shutout.

Bree Paetow

“Ashley had a massive game,” Unruh said. “She made a few saves low and a few going high, and she really controlled the box with clearances.”

Kadence Decker, normally a key offensive player, was switched to outside defender to help cope with Northern’s dangerous wing player. Decker used her speed to keep that player from scoring.

“They moved that player to the other side away from Kadence in the second half, so we just moved Kadence, too,” Unruh said. “She helped us on offense, too, sending in some quality balls.”

Chambersburg played its box midfield alignment, with two defensive midfielders (Zamira Jani, Madi Koons or Lilah Upham) and two attacking center mids (Paetow and Malia Cramer) and it worked smoothly.

Unruh said, “With that set-up, we didn’t really have a striker. But it ended up working out because the two center mids were able to find a pocket where they could win balls and go at the defense. That’s how we got our other chances.”

The Trojans, who were out-shot 12-7, had good opportunities from Maddie Mills, Cramer and Paetow.

On defense, Unruh said that Katy Weller many times was able to run in front of a Northern player and not allow a shot on goal.

Chambersburg had not won a District 3 first-round game in girls soccer in 18 years, since 2007, when it defeated Susquehannock, 4-2. Since then, the Trojans had lost 7 straight times in the first round.