WHITEHALL - Northwestern's one-goal lead seemed insurmountable. When the Tigers' JD Haaf scored his second of the game with 12:01 left in the District 11 Class AA boys soccer final, it gave his team a cushion that all but shut the door on Salisbury.

The Tigers held on for a 2-0 win Thursday at Whitehall's Zephyr Sports Complex for their first district title since 2004."That was huge," said Northwestern head coach Nate Hunsicker. "That was our whole game plan, to get that first goal. And I think their game plan was to prevent it."We haven't let in more than one goal in any game this entire year. We knew when we got that second one, they're going to have to earn it if they're going to beat us."Haaf, the Tigers' leading scorer, put his team ahead 1-0 with 6:59 left in the first half when he got his foot on a bouncing ball in front of the goal and slammed it home."I stayed with it, kept bodying kids and it came out in my direction," said Haaf. "I just put it in the back of the net."With Salisbury's defense doing its best to keep the ball away from Haaf, he finally got another opportunity late in the second half.Salisbury goalie Tyler Keller got a hand on his initial shot, but Haaf got the ball back and had an open net to put the game out of reach."There was an opening in their defense," said Haaf. "I attacked it. He came out aggressive and got a finger tip on it but not enough to change direction. I just put it in the back of the net."Salisbury head coach Mark Allinson said his team did everything it could to contain one of the area's best players."JD Haff is just a handful," said Allinson. "He is by far the best player in the Colonial League. He can take over a game."We try and deny him the ball but he's a little more deceptive than he looks. He's got some speed to him. You look at his size and you don't think he's that strong of a kid but he's muscling off our players. He has the speed and the size. He's the complete package."The game marked the fourth meeting between the teams this year and 10th in the last three years. The Tigers' (22-1) won three of this year's battles, but their only loss this season was a 1-0 overtime setback to the Falcons (15-6)."That game we won in overtime, we took it on the chin 20 times to get that one goal," said Allinson. "To their credit, they move the ball well. They possess the ball well and they've got some big backs that are able to clear the ball out of the back. They get it to their go-to guy and he's a handful."While that midseason loss put a blemish on what could have been an undefeated season, it might have also motivated the team to keep working hard."I actually think it was kind of a good thing," said Haaf. "It put a fire in the back of your mind and just motivated you to keep winning."Both teams were playing without key players in the district title game. The Tigers were without senior central defender Jonathan Blaine, while the Falcons played without midfielder Ethan Heydt, who is arguably the team's best player.The Tigers' season continues Tuesday against the District 1 champ. The game will be played at a site and time to be determined.FINDERS KEEPERS….The game featured the top two goal keepers in the Colonial League. The Falcons' Keller, a junior who earned first-team honors, made 14 saves and did everything he could to keep his team in the game. Northwestern junior Kyle Bellhorn, who was the league's second-team selection, stopped seven shots to earn the shut out.MORE GOLD IS MORE FUN…The Tigers became the first boys soccer team in school history to win league and district titles in the same season.IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED…Northwestern, which lost just two seniors to graduation after last season, reached last year's district title game and lost 3-1 to Saucon Valley.MORE THAN HAAF WAY…Haaf pushed his Northwestern single-season record to 43 goals and now is just four away from his school's career record.