Another night, another milestone for the Tigers.

Not only did Northwestern stretch its state-record winning streak to 50 games in its district quarterfinal win over Palmerton Wednesday night, but junior forward Sophia Schaffer picked up the 100th goal of her career.

Schaffer finished with two goals and an assists in the 5-0 win at Tigers Stadium.

“I never figured that I would be able to get to 100 goals this early,” said the junior forward. “It was definitely nice to get it early in the game and get it out of the way.”

Northwestern’s speed and postseason experience was just too much for the Blue Bombers.

Just over five minutes into the game, Northwestern put its first goal on the board when Schaffer sent a crossing pass in front of the goal and Mykaela Yanders was able to get in front of the ball for a quick shot past goalie Taylor Wasilewski. Schaffer’s 100th goal came just about three minutes later to make it 2-0 in favor of the Tigers.

“It’s definitely a different feeling to get a goal in a game like this than in a regular season game, especially now that we’re in districts,” said Yanders. “We always work to get an early goal, so it was nice to get that one and get a lead.”

Northwestern kept pressure on the Palmerton defense, and Wasilewski was called on to make a number of athletic saves to keep the game from getting out of hand. On the other side, Palmerton’s offense was constantly marked tightly by Northwestern defenders throughout the game.

With 15:11 left to play in the first half, junior Bella Smith was able to sneak a pass in front of Palmerton’s defenders to get it to Schaffer on the left side of the net. Wasilewski was caught out of position and unable to make it back to get the save on Schaffer’s shot.

The Tigers kept up the pressure offensively in the second half, but Wasilewski and Palmerton’s defense were able to fend off the shots.

Kherington Yezik found some open space down the right side of the field and as she looked to turn the play inside, she was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. On the kick, Yezik put it just inside the right post for a 4-0 lead with 27:48 left in regulation.

The Tigers got a final score when Juliet Snyder sent a ball in front of the goal and into a crowd of players. Amelia Glassberg emerged from the group with the ball and had an easy shot into the back of the goal to make it 5-0.

“We were playing possession a lot and we worked it up the field and Schafer crossed the ball in and I was just there at the right time and just had to put a toe poke on the ball to get it in,” said Glassberg of her goal, her 14th of the season.

Wasilewski finished the game with nine saves, and Palmerton recorded three defensive saves. Northwestern’s Olivia Reinhart spent the majority of the game by herself in front of the net and needed to make just one save in the game.

Palmerton, who has three freshmen starters and five more freshmen on its roster, finished its season with a 7-10 record. Meanwhile, Northwestern moves on to defend its 2024 district championship.

“We definitely have a young team and will have a lot of returners next year; a lot of good competitors,” said Palmerton coach Jon Perloni. “This is what you have to expect when you get to this level and you’re playing the best team in the state, and they showed why tonight.”

INSTANT REPLAY … Northwestern will do a replay of its Colonial League semifinal game in the district semifinals when it faces Saucon Valley Tuesday. The Panthers, who lost to Northwestern 8-1 in the league semis, beat Notre Dame of Green Pond Wednesday night in their district quarterfinal game. Northwestern also beat the Panthers during the regular season. “People say it’s hard to beat a good team three times, but we just need to come out and play how we play and just stay calm,” said Glassberg of the rematch with Saucon Valley.

Northwestern 5, Palmerton 0

Palmerton 0 0 - 0

Northwestern 3 2 - 5

Goals: Palmerton - None; Northwestern - Schaffer 2, Yanders 1, Yezik 1, Glassberg 1; Saves: Palmerton - Wesilowski 9; Northwestern - Reinhart 1.

Records: Palmerton (7-10); Northwestern (22-0).