It's a well-known fact that Sarah Segan is an outstanding offensive weapon for Northwestern's girls soccer team. However, opponents still have a difficult time limiting her touches and opportunities to score.

In Tuesday's District 11 Class AA semifinal against Southern Lehigh, the senior standout notched a hat trick to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Lady Spartans and into Thursday's championship against Saucon Valley.It was Northwestern's third win in three games against Southern Lehigh this season.After Segan's two goals in the first half, and her third near the opening of the second, the Tigers' 3-0 lead seemed insurmountable. However, Spartan freshman Amanda Mobley notched two quick goals to make the final 25 minutes of the contest much more interesting."We knew coming into this that Southern Lehigh was going to be a tough team," Segan said. "In the first half, I think we looked really good and we also knew that Southern Lehigh wanted this win just as badly. We knew to come out in the second half that much harder. But so did they."After the flurry of Spartan offense made it 3-2 in the second, the Tiger defense made its present felt by holding out for the win."The last time we played them, it was just as hard," Segan said of the Tigers' 1-0 Colonial League semifinal win two weeks ago. "They just kept coming at us and even though we had that little breakdown defensively, we came up big down the stretch."In the game, Northwestern had a 16-12 edge in shots, however, the Spartans notched 11 of their 12 after intermission."I thought in the second half, (Southern Lehigh) really stepped it up a bit," Northwestern head coach Kelly Bleam said. "They put a lot of pressure forward and it definitely created some scoring chances for them. Being up 3-0, that probably had something to do with it and it was a subconscious letdown, I think."With 10 minutes off the clock, Megan Landrigan fed a streaking Segan up the middle, who pounded it into the net for the early lead. Roughly ten minutes later, she struck again, unassisted, for the 2-0 lead at the break.Coming out of the locker room, Segan quickly outmaneuvered defenders for her third and final score of the game.Shortly afterward, Southern Lehigh's Kaitlyn O'Brien fed freshman Amanda Mobley for the Spartans' first goal.Minutes later, Mobley took a ball from about the 20-yard line and lofted it just out of Tiger goalkeeper Laura Hill's reach to close the gap to 3-2.In the district final, the Tigers face Saucon Valley, the only team beat Northwstern this season. After the Lady Panthers won in the regular season meeting, Northwestern came back and defeated them in the Colonial League championship."We're familiar with them, but our effort will have to be perfect," Bleam said. "We'll need to implement our game plan and remain focused throughout because they are a great team."