One of the best matchups in local sports is when Northwestern Lehigh (14-4-1) and Southern Lehigh (15-5-1) get together on a soccer field. The games are always physical nail-biters and having the game go to overtime or even penalty kicks isn’t out of the question. On Saturday, much of that script played out in the Colonial League championship game, but the Tigers didn’t even need overtime as they beat the Spartans 2-0 to claim gold medals.

Youth was served on the Tigers team this season as they started with a young team that saw the starters get even younger throughout the season when injuries mounted. Their 11-4-1 record during the regular season would have been unexpected had you been able to predict the number of injuries that the team would face from the first game of the season on.

The return of seniors Mason Brensinger and Colin Coffield late in the season put the team at full strength for the first time, giving the Tigers the opportunity to hit full stride at the perfect time as they breezed through the league playoffs and head into districts with a head of steam.

After a scoreless first half, the teams played down to the 26:48 mark of the final half before sophomore Matt Johnson, who had been a thorn in Southern Lehigh defenders’ sides throughout the game, beat three defenders and then fired a shot past goalie Ayden Scharper to give Northwestern Lehigh a 1-0 edge.

Looking for a little insurance, the Tigers continued to push throughout the rest of the half but were unsuccessful until the 8:42 mark of regulation. That’s when Johnson again launched a shot, this time with it banging off the crossbar and right to freshman Jake Van Lierop, who didn’t miss when he played the rebound into the back of the net without breaking stride.

“I was just at the right place at the right time,” said Van Lierop of his goal. “I just go in looking to get anything that I can to put into the back of the net.”

Van Lierop pointed back to a 1-0 loss to Palisades during the regular season as an important point in the season for the team. In that game, Jacob Davis scored the game’s only goal in the final minute of play. The loss was the second in a row for the Tigers as their offense struggled through a stretch where they scored three goals in four games.

“That was kind of a turning point,” said out Van Lierop. “We turned it around and came back with a new, fresh breath and then we started playing better since then. We got a little revenge against them in the playoffs and we’re looking ahead now to districts and we have confidence going in. We got one, so now we can go get another.”

The Northwestern Lehigh defense thwarted Southern Lehigh throughout the game and during the season the team often relied on the play of its back line and goalie Mason Crocco to win games. Jared Wallander was a standout defensively in the title game and credited the return of fellow senior Brensinger for giving the team a boost.

“We’ve just kind of found our zone,” Wallander said. “With Mason back, it’s like we’re unstoppable. Keeping Moravian and now Southern to nothing is amazing. Right now, we feel like we can go all the way and we’re ready to play in districts.”

The win gives Northwestern Lehigh the top seed in the District 11 Class 3A playoffs. Southern Lehigh will come in as the third seed and it is likely the two teams will face each other again in districts as often happens.

The bye for the Tigers puts them automatically into the semifinals where they will play the winner of the game between Saucon Valley and East Stroudsburg South.