Northwestern had all of the shots in the world. But midway through the second half of Thursday's District 11 Class AA girls soccer championship game, the Tigers and Saucon Valley remained locked in a scoreless game.

But with 18:30 left on the clock, that all changed on the Tigers' 26th shot of the game.Sabrina Mertz lined up a shot from 23 yards out, and her strike hit off the right post of the Panthers' goal to lift No. 1 seed Northwestern over No. 3 seed Saucon Valley, 1-0."I think this was definitely the best game that we played all season," Mertz said. "Coming together with everyone playing so well, our combination really came together tonight. To finally finish that goal felt so good because we had so many chances.""That girl takes some of the most amazing shots that you can possibly imagine," head coach Kelly Bleam said. "The work that went into getting that shot off was amazing."The victory positions the Tigers at 20-1 on the season, and for the second time in as many seasons, Northwestern can call itself district champions. The last time a team from District 11 won back-to-back titles was when Tamaqua did it in 2008 and 2009."Never have I been part of back-to-back district championships," Bleam said. "To have back-to-back league and district championships like this is like wow."The final score may have been a one-goal game, but the Tigers dominated the possession battle and opportunities on goal. In all, the Tigers generated 33 shots compared to six for the Panthers.But despite being held scoreless for over three quarters of the game, there was never an ounce of desperation among the Tiger players or on the sideline. In fact, Mertz and Bleam agree that this was the Tigers' best performance of the season."That has to be the best soccer game they played all year," Bleam said. "I was so proud as a coach to watch the girls put everything that they do well and everything they learn throughout the season into affect.""The fact that we were playing so well and kept it up in their end most of the time, we just had to keep going because we knew one was going to go in," Mertz said. "It wouldn't matter who it was. Someone was going to get one."Following a first half that saw Northwestern tally 14 shots, the final 40 minutes opened up with an even faster pace for the Tigers. With a little over 36 minutes to play, Sarah Segan set up McKenzi Divers in front of the Panthers' goal with a wide-open view of the net. Her shot, however, sailed wide right and kept it a scoreless game.A little more than two minutes later, Segan sprinted passed a number of Panther defenders to have a one-on-one opportunity with Saucon Valley goalie Helen Ross. Ross was there for one of her 15 saves, and a Mertz follow up opprtunity was wide of the post.Divers had another opportunity with just over 27 minutes to play. Her shot from in front of the Panthers' goal came within inches of the goal line before a Saucon Valley defender came up with the save. Segan was there to try and clean up the loose ball, but Ross found her way to cover it back up."I was so thrilled with the way the girls played," Bleam said. "That was a beautiful performance of soccer that the girls put on tonight. I wasn't frustrated."It takes patience and it takes perseverance to continue to shoot, do all the right things, and keep at it. You miss one, you have to go again."Coming into the game, the only blemish on the Tigers' season was a 3-2 loss to the Panthers early in the regular season. The two met in the Colonial League championship game where the Tigers won it in overtime, 2-1."You can't ask for a better team to play than Saucon," Mertz said. "They're always a great fight. You saw it in leagues only by one goal and in overtime, and by one goal here again."The Tigers play in the first round of the PIAA Class AA tournament on Tuesday against the District 12 champion. Time and location are still to be determined."It feels really good to go back to states," Mertz said. "States is what you look forward to the whole season. It's such a great experience. I've only made it to the second round and haven't gotten any further than that. We're hoping this year that maybe we'll get a little further."