Northwestern Lehigh doesn’t shy away from playing tough competition, which is why powerful teams like Crestwood, Oley Valley and Palmyra are on its regular-season schedule.

Facing that competition helps prepare the Tigers for tough Colonial League opponents like Bangor.

The Slaters came into Tigers Stadium Wednesday night with just one loss on the season and left with two, as Northwestern shut out Bangor 2-0.

Neither team has been an offensive juggernaut this season, so the low-scoring affair was no surprise.

It looked like the teams would finish the first quarter scoreless, but the Tigers were awarded a corner with time running down and took advantage. Riley Stoudt got the ball to Madelyn Lagowy, who put a shot on goal from the right tip and pushed it past Bangor goalie Jordan Ott with just three seconds left in the quarter.

“I think it was big for us to get that late goal because it allowed us to play with a lead and gave us some momentum going into the second quarter,” said Lagowy, a sophomore. “We knew we couldn’t let up, but it’s always nice to play with a lead and have at least a little cushion, especially in a game against a good team like this.”

For a team that had scored just three goals in its previous five games, the early cushion was exactly what Northwestern needed.

Neither team could find the cage over the next two quarters as the defenses and goalies controlled play. Ott made four saves for Bangor, while sophomore Charlotte Gober stopped six shots for Northwestern to earn her fifth shutout of the season.

“The defense has done extremely well, and they really pride themselves on not just keeping the other team from scoring, but from keeping them from getting quality shots on goal,” said Northwestern coach Lissa Opolsky.

With 8:46 left in regulation, Nora Peterson found herself with an opportunity off a corner and lifted a shot over Ott and into the cage from the left baseline.

The goal gave Northwestern some breathing room and left Bangor with little time to mount a comeback.

“It’s stressful on a corner to really jump on the ball, but I knew that if I could get the ball and as the goalie is looking for a shot low, get the ball up and into the goal, we would be good,” said Peterson.

Northwestern scored on two of its seven corner opportunities, while Bangor went 0-for-5 on penalty corners.

“With a young team like we have, we have a lot of players who aren’t used to being out there in close games like this because most of their experience has come in games where we’re up by a few goals,” said Opolsky. “Generating offense isn’t going to be our strong suit. We’re just going to have a lot of one- and two-goal games and not put up three or four in a game.”

Lagowy feels the transition has been relatively easy thanks to the help she has received from Northwestern’s seniors.

“I think the seniors did a really good job of helping the younger players to get acclimated and feel like we belong on the varsity team,” said Lagowy. “They have really made us feel comfortable and I know I have learned a lot from them whether it’s talking with them or working with them, and even just watching how they go about playing the game. That’s been really important and I don’t have to worry if I make a mistake because we’ll just correct it and move on.”

THE HALFWAY MARK … The 2-0 win over Bangor (9-2, 7-2) came less than a week after a 2-1 victory over Southern Lehigh (7-3, 7-1), giving Northwestern wins over two of the better teams in the Colonial League. It also officially wrapped up the first half of the Tigers’ season, with nine games down and nine remaining.

Northwestern is ranked second in the District 11 Class 1A standings and would currently be the fourth seed in the Colonial League playoffs. The Tigers hold the tiebreaker over Bangor and Southern Lehigh, two of the teams ahead of them in the league standings.

Northwestern still has a matchup with Colonial League-leading Salisbury at Tigers Stadium on Tuesday. The Tigers host District 3’s Oley Valley on Friday and travel to Lehighton on Saturday before turning their attention to the Falcons.

Northwestern 2, Bangor 0

BANGOR 0 0 0 0 — 0

NORTHWESTERN 1 0 0 1 — 2

Goals: BNG — None; NWL — Lagowy, Peterson.

Saves: BNG — Ott 4; NWL — Gober 6.