PORT NECHES — A little more than two months ago, Port Neches-Groves went through a seven-match slump.

A 4-0 record turned into 5-5-1 as the non-district slate got tougher. The Indians had lost two straight going into the University of Texas Showcase.

“We wanted to get something different going to Austin,” seventh-year Indians head coach Chad Luttrull said. “We tied our first game [to Victoria West] and gave up a goal late. We played a 6A school in Round Rock and got beat, and we gave up a few late goals against Killeen and lost to Killeen.

“We went O-for-the weekend.”

But as many coaches say, the non-district is preparation for District 21-5A play.

PNG met some adversity in two losses to Dayton this year, but a four-game surge for the Indians coupled with Dayton’s recent losses to Cleveland and Memorial (in a shootout) catapulted PNG to its ninth district title and first in two years by one point.

“We just learned how to stay together throughout the losses,” junior Ty Bigham said.

The Indians learned they secured the outright title by watching a FaceTime stream of Dayton at Memorial on the bus ride from Vidor. Memorial’s shootout win held Dayton to just their 28th district point of the season (three for each win, one for each shootout loss). PNG had 29.

“I didn’t want to watch it because … I just didn’t want to watch the penalties,” junior goaltender Isai Acosta said. “I heard them say we won. We all just started jumping on the bus.”

Bigham played a big role in the Indians’ title march. He netted the tying goal in regulaton and winning goal in overtime of a 4-3 victory over Memorial in Port Arthur on March 8. PNG took sole possession of second place with the win.

“Jason [Lovejoy, the team’s leading scorer] went down, so somebody had to step up,” Bigham said.

The Indians (18-7-2, 9-2-1 in 21-5A) tuned up for the playoffs with a 2-0 win over East Chambers on Monday and enjoyed a night together in Houston watching the U.S. men’s national team play Chile. They’ll be back in business Thursday when they face 22-5A fourth seed Goose Creek Memorial at the Lamar University Soccer Complex.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Luttrull made some lineup changes at the UT Showcase, including moving sophomore Lovejoy from midfield to forward. Lovejoy has 28 goals and 19 assists on the season, while having a hand in 22 of the Indians’ 24 goals in 21-5A play (11 goals, 11 assists).

“It’s a matter of finding the right opportunities and when to shoot or not shoot,” Lovejoy said.

PNG has recorded 11 shutout victories this season, thanks to the goaltending play of juniors Acosta and Santiago Agudelo. Acosta averaged 1.1 goals against in district games this year.

He acknowledged the play of the defense in front of him.

“They definitely stop a lot of shots before they get to me,” Acosta said. “That’s part of the reason I have that ratio, is our defense.”

The PNG-GCM winner will take on either Manvel or the third-place team from District 23-5A in the area round. PNG last advanced out of that round in 2010.

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews