PINETOWN — After a scoreless first half, Northside’s aggression finally paid off when Bruno Maldonado found twine in the first minute of the second half. However, Southside would come back with three unanswered goals to win, 3-1.

PHOTOS: Southside at Northside soccer

That aggression from the Panthers kept the Seahawks from building up their attack in the first half. It largely stopped them from moving the ball through the middle. Northside won the majority of the 50-50 balls and dominated possession for large stretches.

It left the Panthers feeling confident after striking quickly in the second half. Conditioning caught up, though, allowing Southside to use its depth to take control.

“I’ve got two or three players that can come off the bench and are as good as the starters,” Southside coach Jay Petty said. “It gave us a bit of an edge. … The first half, we played very lax and very laid back. I’ve got to give Northside credit. They came out here and wanted it.”

Northside coach Bogy Patton added: “I think we got tired right at the end, but I definitely think we were the better team out there tonight.”

The Seahawks had plenty of chances to knot the game shortly after their hosts went ahead. One shot at an open net rolled just wide. Another, this one off the foot of Remington Huggins, dinked off the post.

Sophomore Eduardo Gonzalez finally drew even about 14 minutes into the second half. He settled a stellar cross across the penalty area and put it past senior Panther goalkeeper Satoru Shinohra.

Northside defender Jacob Shatterfield did well to get back and break up what would have been a breakaway chance for the Seahawks. Shortly after, though, Jario Juarez cleaned up following a scrum in front of the Northside goal. It extended Southside’s lead to 2-1.

Juarez netted his second of the game to keep the buzzing Panthers at a distance.

The first half was exactly what Northside wanted going into the match. The Panthers disrupted Southside’s offense and got solid looks of their own. Josue Ramirez got a shot on goal in the 18th minute, but Southside keeper Johan Prado was able to make the save.

“I think we played excellent. We’re playing against one of the better teams in the conference,” Patton said. “To play as well as we did was great. They have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Shinohra stood tall when the Seahawks were able to mount an attack. He produced a handful of highlight-reel saves in the first half. Arguably the most impressive came when Johnathan Hernandez fed Huggins in the box. Shinohra deflected the shot and jumped on it before it could trickle over the goal line.