Senior Grace Shanton knows how to fill the role of leader for the Lehighton field hockey team this season.

That title proved to be accurate when she scored both of her team's goals during a 2-1 non-league victory over Northwestern on Monday.The youthful Lady Tigers' defense was faced with a barrage of offensive attacks throughout the majority of the contest. Eventually, Shanton managed to put a pair of them past Tiger goalie Courtney Page."As the center midfielder out there, I'm essentially the quarterback of the team," Shanton said. "I'm definitely just trying to work the ball around the field, set up passes, work on communication and maintain the positivity out there on the field."Lehighton coach Karen Wall also pointed to communication as a key to the victory."I'm definitely pleased with the win," Wall said. "The girls communicated and moved the ball well. When they communicate, they pick up their play so much and this is what we have been working on."Northwestern had its opportunities in the game, pushing the action deep into the Tribes' defense on several instances. However, the Indians quickly thwarted those chances and repeatedly cleared the ball.With 16:51 left in the first half, Shanton took a quick pass from a teammate and finessed the first of her two goals into the net to provide the Tribe with the early lead."It's all about getting quick passes and keeping our pace up," Shanton said. "Getting the early lead is so important, because when we do, our energy gets up, keeps us moving forward and makes us work even harder."Northwestern's defense stepped up and denied the winners several other scoring chances throughout the remainder of the first half.However, the Indians made the most of another chance with 19:22 left in the contest.Shanton found a deflected ball off a Tiger defender and back-handed the ball into the net.With just 52.9 seconds remaining, the Northwestern offense finally was able to convert on one of its advances up the field when Rachel Koerner took a feed from Danielle Schmidt and put the ball in the net.However, time eventually ran out on the Tigers (2-4-1)."Their speed is a really key factor in their game," said Northwestern coach Lissa Opolsky. "We have a young defensive unit, so I tried to continuously rotate some girls in there to adjust. I thought we did a good job of handling it. We also had to adjust to the turf throughout the course of the game."But give credit to Lehighton because they have a skill set that we are trying to develop."Next up on the schedule for Lehighton is perennial power Southern Lehigh on Tuesday. Both coach Wall and Shanton are hoping the strong play continues."We definitely need to keep our energy up," Shanton said. "That's one of the most important things moving forward. The high quality of teams we have coming up have good players and they have the experience. They bring the heat, so we have to do the exact same."READY, AIM, FIRE! ... Both teams unloaded on their opposition's goalkeepers as the Tigers held a 17-15 edge in shots on goal in the game. The tandem of Michelle Bozilesky and Jess Ripkey combined for eight saves for Lehighton. Page amassed 12 stops for Northwestern.EVERY CORNER IS NOT A GOAL ... Lehighton totaled 11 corners in the game and often times they did set up shots. However, the Tiger defense did a good job of stopping them. The Tigers had five corners in the game with none leading to a goal.WHAT A VIEW ... The new Lehighton stadium hosted the night game and the facility continues to impress.