Northwestern Lehigh and Central Columbia have become familiar opponents after meeting several times in the state playoffs over the past few seasons.

The two teams have also begun facing each other during the regular season, using the matchups as a measuring stick for what they need to improve heading into the postseason.

Saturday’s meeting at Tiger Stadium provided yet another test for both teams, with Northwestern’s Sophia Schaffer and Central Columbia’s Quinlan Blake taking center stage.

Both players recorded hat tricks in a back-and-forth 3-3 tie that saw Schaffer reach another career milestone with her 150th goal.

Blake struck first, battling past a pair of defenders before using her left foot to send a shot past Northwestern goalkeeper Brystol Hamm for a 1-0 lead midway through the first half.

Northwestern created several opportunities, but was turned away by the Blue Jays’ defense and goalkeeper Braelan Moran.

On one attack, Moran went to the ground to make a save, but the ball rebounded directly to Schaffer, who had room in front of her and scored with 7:09 remaining in the half to tie the score.

Schaffer struck again early in the second half following a sequence that took some time to develop.

With 31:02 remaining, Schaffer was awarded a direct kick from 26 yards out, but her attempt was stopped and cleared by the Central Columbia defense.

She eventually shook the two defenders who had been closely marking her and fired another shot that hit the post. Her teammates worked the ball back to her, and Schaffer sent a shot past Moran to give the Tigers their first lead, 2-1, with 30:06 left to play.

“My teammates do a good job of knowing where I am on the field, and identifying those pockets to get the ball to me even though I have multiple girls on me,” said Schaffer. “I just have to play the way I usually play, whether I have one girl or three girls on me, and I can find a way to get past them.”

Blake quickly shifted the momentum back toward Central Columbia.

With 24:59 remaining, Blake put a shot on goal that appeared to glance off a defender before finding the net to tie the score at 2-2.

Less than a minute later, Blake found some space and broke toward the goal, slipping a shot just beyond Hamm’s reach to complete her hat trick and put the Blue Jays back in front, 3-2.

But Northwestern had another answer.

Junior Juliet Snyder, one of the teammates who has developed a knack for finding Schaffer, delivered a pass that allowed the senior to stay in stride and beat Moran with 18:25 remaining.

The goal tied the game at 3-3 and gave Schaffer 150 for her career, adding another milestone to her long list of accomplishments at Northwestern.

“It feels great. I’m proud of reaching that number, and thankful that I have had the teammates that I have had to get me there,” said Schaffer.

Northwestern had an opportunity to take the lead when it was awarded a penalty kick with 9:45 remaining.

Senior Dylan Ritter took the attempt, but Moran dove to her right and deflected the ball away from the goal to preserve the tie.

For Northwestern coach Jordan Smith, the matchup revealed something important about his team’s ability to respond to adversity.

“I’ve seen a side of the girls that I have never seen before with how resilient they played today,” said Smith. “The first 20 minutes, we didn’t quite have it like they did and they were playing more physical and winning 50-50 balls. When we went down 1-0, we didn’t get down on ourselves, we didn’t yell at each other or hang our heads. Instead, a light bulb went on and we started playing the way that I know we can and when we gave up the two goals in the second half, the same thing happened and we just fought back and tied it. We showed a lot of resiliency today in a big game.”

THE NEXT MILESTONE ... Schaffer has made it clear that her biggest goal is helping Northwestern make another run at a state championship. But with 150 career goals, another individual milestone is now within reach.

The District 11 career record of 166 goals is within striking distance, particularly if the Tigers make a deep postseason run.

“Now that I’m this close, I would like to get that record, but the only way I can get it is if we keep winning in the postseason, and that’s what I really want. I want us to be able to experience playing for the gold in states.”

Northwestern 3, Central Columbia 3

Central Columbia 1 2 — 3

Northwestern 1 2 — 3

Goals: Central Columbia — Quinlan Blake 3; Northwestern — Sophia Schaffer 3. Saves: Central Columbia — Braelan Moran 8; Northwestern — Brystol Hamm 5.

Records: Central Columbia 14-0-1; Northwestern Lehigh 15-1-1.