WHITEHALL - Palmerton field hockey coach Lauren Salerno wasn’t even born when the school last won gold medals in districts.

That win came back in 1983, but this year’s squad erased that factoid when Analise Recker scored three goals and the Blue Bombers downed Palisades 3-0 in the District 11 1A finals Saturday at Whitehall High School.

“We had a lot of scoring opportunities, but we just had to get it in because they are a good team and they can score as well as we can,” said Recker of her first goal of the game.

After finishing as the Colonial League runner-up, Palmerton came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed and defeated Wilson to reach the finals against fourth seed Palisades.

The Lady Pirates had to go through fifth-seed Northwestern Lehigh, and then upset the top-seeded Lady Lions from Moravian Academy in the semis.

With Palmerton (18-4-1) up 1-0 after the first quarter, the Bombers continued to be the aggressor throughout the next 15 minutes of play. On one attack, Recker again found herself in front of the goal and picked up her second score of the game as Palmerton grabbed a two-goal advantage.

Palisades (14-8-1) put on a little more pressure in the third quarter, but neither team was able to change the scoreboard.

In the final quarter, Recker decided her team needed a little more room to maneuver, and put the ball past goaltender Hannah Higgins to make it 3-0. The goal was Recker’s 22nd of the season.

None of the players seemed to sense any added pressure because of the gold drought, and were focused only on having gold medals, rather than silver put around their necks.

“We didn’t really talk about it that much, but winning districts was one of our goals all during the season,” said Recker about any pressure from the team not having won district gold in 38 years. “It’s a great feeling, especially since we lost to Southern Lehigh in the league championship; it’s a great feeling to be here and win.”

Salerno also did not feel any pressure to break the streak, and was genuinely excited for her players.

While her players are not used to playing in districts, Salerno spent a lot of time on the field during playoff time as a member of the Lehighton field hockey team.

“It’s pretty cool,” Salerno said of winning district gold as a coach. “There was no stress coming in at all; just excitement at having this opportunity. I have full faith in all the players, and I knew once I saw them begin that first quarter and they were passing and they were communicating, I knew we were in it. I always have faith in this bunch.”

THE ROAD BACK TO WHITEHALL … The Blue Bombers secured a spot in states by advancing to the district final. Two teams in Class 1A from District 11 advance to states. With the win over Palisades, they will have a first-round game on their home field and an easier path to reaching the PIAA finals, which will be played at the Whitehall Sports Complex on Nov. 20. Palmerton’s first-round game will be on Tuesday against Line Mountain, the third-place team from District 3, and will get underway at 6 p.m.

ALL ABOUT THE ALIEN … Palmerton has had a cardboard cutout of an alien displayed proudly on its bench throughout the postseason. Turns out that the alien is a good-luck charm. Someone decided on a whim to bring it along to a game and the Bombers won, so they have saved a seat on the bench for the alien and have won every game it has tagged along to except for the Colonial League finals, where they lost to Southern Lehigh. Now, the alien is hoping for a bus ride back to Whitehall soon.