The postseason journey hasn’t been easy for the Northwestern girls soccer team.

Its semifinal game on Tuesday against Palisades in the District 11 4A playoffs was another indication of this.

Hosted at Lehighton, the Pirates turned what originally looked like a runaway victory for the Tigers into a gut check throughout the second half.

Despite having a landslide lead in shots, NW managed to hold on for a 2-1 win and advance to the district final.

“I told the girls after the game (that it was) just a full team effort,” Tigers’ head coach Jordan Smith said. “We didn’t quite have that final touch tonight. We had 26 shots and only finished two of them. I would’ve liked to put a couple more in the back of the net to be a little more comfortable, but (Palisades is) a really good team. They don’t give up a lot of goals, (and) they have a really good goalie.

“I’m just proud of the girls for the way they worked tonight.”

The Pirates’ goalie that Smith referred to is Sadie Chilton. The senior played her heart out in her final high school game, stopping 15 shots to keep her team in the game all the way to the end.

“Of all the goalies I’ve coached, she practices so hard,” said Palisades head coach Tim Houghton. “She is so upset if a goal goes in in practice, and very rare that goalkeepers are like that.

“It doesn’t surprise me with her performance because she’s been fantastic all season and fantastic for the last two years.”

Top-seeded Northwestern initially appeared as if it was going to cruise to a victory after finding the back of the net just 1:44 into the contest.

Sophia Schaffer fed a lead pass ahead to Kaylynn Knauss, who shot back across Chilton to grab an early lead.

The Tigers broke through later in the half when Elliana Fluke drove down the field and sent a cross crease pass to Schaffer who doubled the lead.

With that goal, Schaffer also set a new District 11 goals record with the 167th of her career.

“It’s a crazy thought,” she said about setting the record. “I’m just really honored that I was able to get that accomplishment, but I wouldn’t be here without any one of my teammates or my coaches or my supporters, like my family and friends. I’m just really grateful for everyone that’s been there for me and helped me grow as a player.”

“(She’s) just such a smart player; easy to coach,” said coach Smith. “I can be hard on her, and she doesn’t shut down. She’s going to listen and she’s going to do it, and she rises to the occasion every day.”

Fourth-seeded Palisades regained life late in the half attempting to rush down the field. The drive set up a picturesque free kick goal from Abbey Schmidt that sailed perfectly into the top of the net, cutting into the NW lead with just 1:03 left in the half.

The Pirates carried this momentum into the second portion, giving Northwestern trouble advancing the ball up the field. Whenever the Tigers did manage to break through with shots off the rush, Chilton was there to shut the door, looking more and more confident after each save.

As the half progressed toward its end, Palisades appeared to run out of gas, while NW regathered itself and managed to lock things down defensively and survive with the win.

“I think it was unfortunate we gave a goal up early,” coach Houghton said. “It could have derailed us, but they just kept working at it. I’m very proud, especially the second-half performance, because I felt like we were in it the whole second-half, right up until the end really.

“It’s my seventh year, and I can say categorically, without any shadow of the doubt, this team led by the seniors has had the best togetherness (and) team spirit all the way through. They should be really proud of themselves.”

The Tigers will now have an opportunity to win a fifth straight district title. Despite how difficult it has been to maintain that level of success each year, the program has found a way even through moments of adversity such as this.

“I tell them we’re not invincible,” coach Smith said. “Every day you show up, the score is 0-0 when you start the game, and it’s their job to change that. We have a standard at Northwestern, and luckily we have great leadership, great upperclassmen that passed that down to the freshman, and they understand what it’s all about.

“Our first goal was to win the league championship. We did, and now we’re on to our next goal.”

FAMILIAR FOE ... The Tigers will face Notre Dame in the district final, hosted at Liberty on Thursday. NW defeated the Crusaders 1-0 in penalty kicks during the Colonial League final. ND came back to win 4-3 after trailing 3-0 against Allentown Central Catholic in its semifinal to advance.

Northwestern 2, Palisades 1

Palisades 1 0 - 1

Northwestern 2 0 - 2

Goals: Palisades - Abbey Schmidt 1; Northwestern - Kaylynn Knauss 1, Sophia Schaffer 1; Assists: Palisades - None; Northwestern - Sophia Schaffer 1, Elliana Fluke 1; Saves: Palisades - Sadie Chilton 15; Northwestern - Brystol Hamm 1; Shots: Palisades - 2; Northwestern - 26; Corners: Palisades - 1; Northwestern - 5.

Records: Palisades (14-4-2); Northwestern (21-1-1).