While the coronavirus threw a monkey wrench into the fall sports season, Northwestern field hockey coach Lissa Opolsky looked to keep things as close to normal as she could.

When the team couldn’t work out in person, she moved the sessions to Zoom, so they could all be together at least in some capacity.

When they could finally practice in person, she put them through the same paces she normally would have.

And when it came to the schedule, Opolsky wasn’t content with some abbreviated, mini-schedule, so Northwestern played an 18-game regular season, the most in District 11.

“I think that was really huge for us,” said Opolsky of the lengthy schedule. “There were times when we were playing four or five times a week, and I think that it helped us to be ready for playoffs. The time that we missed in practicing, we made up for in games, and that helped prepare us.”

Finishing the regular season with a 14-4 record, and including the Colonial League and District 11 playoffs, the Tigers have now won nine in a row, and 14 of their last 15 as they come into states looking to make a deep run. Northwestern starts its pursuit of a state title Saturday in Bloomsburg against the Bloomsburg High School Panthers. It will take three wins for the Tigers to be state champions.

The Northwestern roster features 10 seniors, and many figure this is the year the Tigers could take a shot at getting a state title.

“Every season you want to go as far as you can, but we did feel that this group is sort of special and might be able to make a run at a state championship,” said Opolsky. “It’s not just all of the seniors that we have, but it’s the players behind them that have a lot of experience and play at a high level.”

Northwestern has gone to states in each of the last two seasons, but were eliminated in the first round.

“We can’t look at the past and worry about what happened,” said Opolsky. “Instead, we have to focus on this being a single event and being a new adventure. We have the players and the experience to beat the teams we’ll be facing in states, so it’s just a matter of going out and executing.

“It’s been a little different for us each season. Two years ago, we were district runners-up and last year we went to states as a district champion just like we are this season. Of course, this season’s playoffs were limited to only the district champions, so it’s a little different. You sort of get thrown right into the fire because everyone there has already won gold, so that makes it interesting.”

The Panthers come into Saturday’s game with both the top goal scorer, and the top player in assists from District 4. Ayden McFarland led the district with 20 goals, while Morgan Millard led District 4 with 12 assists. Bloomsburg finished the season with a 13-3 record, and outscored its opponents by an 80-10 margin during the regular season.

Bloomsburg went into states last season with a 10-3-1 record as the runners-up of District 4. Like Northwestern, they were eliminated with a first-round loss.

“I like our chances,” said Opolsky. “We never go up against anybody feeling like we can’t win or won’t win. We have a lot of confidence, and while we know the games won’t be easy, we have faced some pretty good teams and come out on top.”