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NORTHVILLE - The Northville boys' soccer team got off to a slow start Friday as it opened postseason play against Doane Stuart.

The 11th-seeded Thunder Chicken came out on the attack early in the quarterfinal match against the defending Section II Class D champion and put the Falcons down 1-0 just 17 minutes into the match.

The goal brought the Northville offense to life as they tied the match by halftime and with Jimmy Cole netting four second-half goals, defeated Doane Stuart 7-1 to advance to the semifinal round.

"They really came out strong and you have to give them credit for really stepping up and coming here ready to play," Northville coach Steve Clapper said. "Their speed up front gave them dangerous chances. It took a little while for us to adjust and realize how to play with that. After our defense learned how [Noah Ryhnhart] played, his moves and the kind of speed he has, they adjusted and started making a difference in how we played in the back."

Doane Stuart's early-game pressure kept the Falcons pinned back in a defensive posture. The pressure paid off when Ryhnhart broke through and finished a close-range shot into the lower left corner to put the Thunder Chicken up 1-0 with 16:53 off the clock.

The Falcons began to find their passing rhythm and put pressure on the Doane Stuart defense. The shots on goal began to build up, starting with Cole hitting the post on a direct kick with 16:25 left in the first half.

"Obviously, we don't play a lot of long balls through the back, but we are able to get up on throw-ins and corner kicks," Clapper said. "We had to look for options and expand our repertoire to see what we could find that would work and then exploit their weakness and build our game from there."

Cole picked up the assist when he headed a throw-in from Josh Ostrander forward and MacKenzie Groff headed it into the net for the equalizer with 11:30 left in the opening half.

Northville kept its late-first-half momentum going during the opening minutes of the second half.

With 36:28 left in regulation, Cole got the go-ahead goal when Ostrander's shot deflected off a defender and Cole was in position to drive the ball into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

The Thunder Chicken put together a strong offensive surge with Zach Bedell and Nicholas Visco stepping up to turn away a strong run on goal by Ryhnhart and Adam Stewart.

"That's our game plan [get the ball forward to Ryhnhart] and it worked out well for the first half and part of the second," Doane Stuart coach Drew Levy said. "Then in the second half he got hit and pulled his groin a bit. We knew that we were going to have to take it to them. We knew that in terms of the caliber of play and the fitness level that they were going to have it up on us. We count on making the most of our chances and putting ourselves in position. But they are pretty relentless and keep coming at you. We are not very deep, but we were in there for pretty much of the game."

Ostrander and Cole hooked up again with 26:54 remaining, when Ostrander's throw deep into the penalty area was knocked down by goalkeeper Brendon Fleig-Goldstein. Cole again was in the right spot to finish the play for a 3-1 edge.

Cole struck again 21 seconds later when Ostrander sent a through ball down the center of the field and Cole timed his run perfectly against a drawn-up Doane Stuart defense to slot the ball into the right corner for a 4-1 lead.

"[In the] first half we weren't going to the ball," Cole said. "[In the] last 10 minutes of the first half, we began turning it up and that carried over to the second half. Passes started going down the middle and they tried using an offside trap and we played the ball right, beat the offsides and finished it."

Cole collected his fourth goal of the match off an assist from Groff to up the score to 5-1 with 19:16 remaining.

Groff connected for his second goal of the match with an unassisted score with 17:58 remaining.

Clapper called on his reserves to close out the game and junior varsity call-up Jordan Ryder finished off a pass from his brother Drew for his first varsity goal with 3:44 remaining for the 7-1 final.

"They are strong and physical but they don't play dirty," Levy said of the Falcons. "It was a great season for us. We are young. The core of offense and midfield are all sophomores and juniors, so we are expecting good things for the next couple of years."

Northville advances to Tuesday's semifinal match against second-seeded Loudonville Christian, which advanced with an 8-0 win over Argyle. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Morse Field in Glens Falls. The winner advances to the Nov. 7 championship match at Colonie against the victor between top-seeded Fort Ann and No. 4 Bolton.