EMMAUS — The Tigers and Lions battled on the turf at Emmaus’ Memorial Field as Northwestern Lehigh looked to win a spot in their fourth straight District 11 2A lacrosse championship.

For Moravian Academy, a win would put them in the finals for the first time in the program’s history.

When the battle of the cats was over, not only had the Tigers fallen to the Lions, but they suffered a potentially larger loss when they found out that coach Marcus Janda was stepping down.

It was just minutes after his team had finished shaking hands with Moravian when Janda bent over the Northwestern bench with his hand covering his face. After taking time to gather his thoughts, he walked over and announced that he was leaving to spend more time with his family. Janda coached the team from its inception and led them to their first district championship in 2023 and now, it was over.

Northwestern (11-8) had battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game on a tally by Logan Uricchio with 3:20 remaining in regulation. Just :08 later, Moravian (11-6) regained the lead and never looked back as it took a 10-7 win in the semifinal round.

“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” said Janda. “From the day we started this program, I have had kids that battled and gave all that they could, and this group was no different. They showed what they’re made of today with how they kept coming back, and they can be proud of what they accomplished.”

In fact, Northwestern came back from a two-goal deficit three times to tie the game or go ahead.

The first came after Moravian took a quick 2-0 lead just three minutes into the game. Two goals by Uricchio, and the 50th goal of the season by sophomore Tyler Kaas, put Northwestern up 3-2 before Moravian tied the game late in the first quarter.

The Lions put the Tigers down 5-3 just 1:40 into the third quarter before both Michael Lagowy and Kendall Wikert logged goals, knotting the game at 5-5 with 7:06 left in the third.

“We just had to keep coming back at them,” said Kaas. “They’re a tough team and they didn’t let up, so it became a real battle. We played well, and didn’t let ourselves get too down on ourselves and just kept pushing both offensively and defensively.”

Moravian scored twice within 1:16 in the final quarter and seemed destined to reach the finals with a 7-5 lead, but again, Northwestern delayed the gratification.

Wikert found the smallest of openings between goalie Brady Hopstetter and the post to sneak a shot to the back of the net to make it 7-6. A steal at the other end gave Northwestern a transition opportunity as it set for just the right play.

Uricchio, who is often among the smallest players on the field, was able to sneak between a pair of bigger defenders to take a pass from Kaas and quickly fire it into the goal before the Moravian defense could react.

“We made some mistakes, and there were some areas where we needed to clean things up a little,” said Janda. “You have to tip your hat to them though because they played a great game and were able to take advantage of any mistakes we made. They’re a good team and well coached, and they were able to get us today.”

Unfortunately for Northwestern, the Lions won the ensuing faceoff and needed just :08 to find Cade Dancho, who scored his 23rd goal of the season to give Moravian an 8-7 advantage with 3:12 left in regulation.

Following the goal, Dancho was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, leaving Moravian to play a man down. The deficit didn’t seem to faze it, though, as Faust Capobianco struck with 2:23 left to play to provide some insurance, and Berkley Weidner wrapped up the win with a goal in the final minute of play.

Kaas was covered heavily by the Moravian defense throughout the game, limiting his opportunities.

“It was really tough for me to find open spots,” admitted Kaas, who led Northwestern in goals this season. “Since I couldn’t do a lot to help, I just let my team go five-on-five and looked for spots to help where I could. It just wasn’t working out for me.”

CENTRAL CASTING … Allentown Central Catholic (16-3) will play in its fifth straight District 11 2A championship after defeating Southern Lehigh Tuesday night at Emmaus. The Vikings have won three of the last four district championships and will face Moravian Academy, who will be looking for the program’s first district title.