BY MARK MORING, Eastern Shore Post —
One year ago, Northampton’s boys soccer team took a long — and very quiet — bus ride back home from Salem, where the Yellow Jackets had just lost in the state semifinals. The trip, more than six hours, seemed like it took forever.
One week ago, Northampton took that exact same bus ride back home from Salem, but this time it was a much different story.
“It might’ve gotten a little rowdy,” said Thomas Dix, a senior midfielder.
And who could blame them? The Jackets were celebrating their second state title in three years. They had just dominated two foes on back-to-back days to win it all, and the joy was palpable.
And noisy. Rescue Engine 17 of the Eastville Volunteer Fire Company, its lights flashing and sirens wailing, escorted the team bus through town and into the school parking lot, where a cacophony of hoots and horns greeted the boys as they rolled in after dark last Saturday night.
“The feeling,” said Dix, “was surreal.”
In his final high school game, Dix scored three goals to lift the Jackets to a 7-1 rout of Eastern Montgomery in the VHSL Class 1 championship on June 14. Sebastian Mayorga, Luke Jones, Manuel Montalvo, and Eli Philpot added a goal each for the Jackets, who finished the year at 16-2-1.
The day before, Jones scored two goals to lead Northampton to a 5-0 semifinal win over Auburn. Dix, Martin Montalvo, and Joseph Castillo added a goal apiece.
“The team was hyper-focused in Salem,” said Coach Chase Baxa. “They knew what the goal was and made sure they did everything to get the result we wanted.”
“The whole team played with passion and grit,” added Dix.
“We played great,” added Mayorga, a junior. “We fought hard and gave it our all.”
Northampton had been preparing for this moment since that long, agonizing bus ride a year ago, after a crushing 2-1 overtime loss to Galax in the semifinals.
“We used that loss as fuel to power us to the next level,” said Jones, a junior. “Our job this year was to win the state title, and I can’t thank Coach Baxa enough for pushing us to be better.”
Last year’s loss to Galax wasn’t the only motivation. A 6-1 drubbing at Kempsville lit a fire under the Jackets, too. They went on to win their last 12 games by a total of 60-4. That’s not a typo: They only gave up four goals in 12 games, while filling the nets with 60.
“That Kempsville loss was a setback,” said Dix, “but it motivated us not to have a game like that again.”
It wasn’t just the Kempsville loss. That game was the last of four April contests against strong Class 5 teams from Hampton Roads — big schools with enrollment four and five times Northampton’s 313 students. During that stretch, the Jackets had a 3-3 tie vs. Cox (1,262 students), a 5-2 loss to Great Bridge (1,278 students), a 2-1 win over Hickory (1,173 students), and the loss to Kempsville (1,488 students). All four of those teams had winning records this spring, and Hickory made it to the state semifinals.
Despite going 1-2-1 during that stretch, the Jackets got tougher and better.
“Playing against Class 5 schools was challenging,” said Dix, “but it set us up for success when we had to play hard teams.”
“They were four very hard teams,” added Mayorga. “After those games, we focused on what we did wrong, what we could have done differently, and how we could perfect it.”
Baxa says he didn’t intend to schedule those four games in a row, but with cancellations and transportation issues, it just turned out that way.
“The guys welcomed the challenge and played incredible against some of the best teams in the area,” he says. “I think the potential we saw from those four games propelled us to play on another level for the rest of the season.”
Baxa said he’ll miss seniors Dix, Jose Palacio, and Martin and Manuel Palacio, players who were key to the 2023 state title and the first group Baxa has coached through four years since their freshman season.
“They’ve taught me more about the game than I could ever teach them,” he says.
Baxa now turns his focus to Eastern Shore Community College, where he will coach the school’s first-ever soccer team this fall. But he’s not leaving Northampton, where he intends to keep coming back for more.
“I’m already looking forward to next spring,” he said. “I think we can make another run and keep our streak of visiting Salem alive.”
