Last season, a loss to Palisades on a last-second goal was a turning point in the season for Northwestern.

Thursday night, in their first meeting this season, Palisades once again had a late goal, but the Tigers were able to hang on for a 2-1 win in a rowdy meeting between the two teams.

Fans from both teams were on the officials throughout the game, and a coach from Palisades was given a red card late in the second half for arguing with an official.

The Pirates (5-1 overall, 3-1 Colonial League) came out strong, but the Northwestern defense fended off pressure and before long, much of the play was within proximity of the Palisades goal. Just past the midway point of the first half, the Tigers (6-0, 4-0) were awarded a corner, and Cayden Fitch played a ball in to Tim Zellner, who took advantage of the feed and put it into the net for his first goal of the season to give Northwestern a 1-0 advantage.

The score held until the first half wore down to just 3:12 left on the clock when a deflected shot came to Isaac Frey, who fired it past goalie Blake Reinard to put the Tigers up 2-0.

The second half belonged primarily to Palisades. The offense put more pressure on Northwestern, but the strong Tigers’ defense - which had allowed just one goal this season coming into the game - was able to turn away the attack.

“Our back line with three non-seniors has been stepping up, and they are good with communicating and possessing out of the back,” said Fitch. “The familiarity is definitely growing because we had never played with this back line, so the seniors and captains have coordinated from the midfield.”

It took a quality shot from Gianluca LeBlanc to put the Pirates on the board with 4:05 left to play. LeBlanc moved on goal and found a small opening at the top corner of the net, just above the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Damian Krapf to cut the Northwestern lead in half. From there, it was just a matter of the Tigers locking down the play for the final minutes, and not allowing Palisades to get penetration near the net.

Of the two goals that the Tigers have allowed this season, the first was a disputed goal on a penalty kick against Whitehall. This one took a big play from an offensive leader from Palisades to find a goal for the Pirates.

“We only have one returning starter from the back line last season, and then we have a freshman and a sophomore,” said coach Nate Hunsicker. “I was pretty forthright in saying that coming in, my biggest concern was that back line, not because of their ability, but because of their lack of varsity experience.

“They have performed very well. Even today when we gave up a lot of counter attacks and had a lot of one-on-one situations, they stood resolute and made the play.”

MISTER 200 ... The win was number 202 for Hunsicker, who picked up his 200th victory in a win over Notre Dame Green Pond last week.

KEEPING THEIR COOL ... Despite the intensity and at times rowdiness of the game, the Northwestern coaches and players showed a lot of composure, which helped to keep the team together on the field.

SPRINGBOARD ... After a goal in the final seconds gave Palisades a 1-0 victory over Northwestern on Sept.22 of last season, The Tigers went 10-1-1 the rest of the regular season, and then proceeded to win Colonial League and District 11 titles.

THEN THERE WERE TWO ... With Palisades falling from the ranks of the unbeaten, just Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh (3-3, 3-0) remain undefeated in Colonial League play. The two teams have their only meeting of the season scheduled for Sept. 17 at Southern Lehigh. They have met in each of the last two Colonial League championships ,with the Spartans winning 2-1 on penalty kicks in 2020, and Northwestern winning last year’s rematch 2-0.

THE RACE TO 100 ... Both Matt Johnson and Josh Zellner have 92 points for their high school career at Northwestern as they race toward the 100-point milestone. Zellner, a senior, has 37 goals and 18 assists, while Johnson, a junior, has 36 goals and 20 assists. The last player to reach the 100-point mark was Sam Seyfried in 2019.