With the Palmerton and Northern Lehigh field hockey teams squaring off this early in the season — and both teams looking for their first win of the year — the rivalry continued to thrive.

Despite controlling the majority of the contest and nabbing a 2-0 win Thursday over the Bulldogs, Palmerton head coach Pat Frank was happy, but not content.

“First off, I want to commend our team on the win. Getting the first win of the season is difficult,” he said. “Hopefully, though, we can build off of this because we have a lot of things that we need to work on.”

After a season-opening loss to Moravian Academy, it was a step in the right direction for the Bombers, who continue to focus on improvement with each passing day.

“We played Moravian and we really played down in the first half, before coming out stronger in the second,” Frank said. “I was hoping we didn’t get out to that slow start today, but in both games so far, it just seems like we have to figure out our scoring, and what to do with it in the circle.”

However, Palmerton’s ‘red zone’ issues didn’t prevent it from getting a victory. The Bombers scored on two of their 13 shots. They also held a 12-5 edge in corners, which led to some scoring opportunities as well.

“When you win 2-0, you wish you felt better about the win,” said Frank. “But I know we’re capable of playing better and even though we controlled the majority of the game, we just couldn’t seem to finish down here when it mattered.”

Northern Lehigh, under the direction of first-year head coach Kim Seiler, saw plenty of improvement and has plenty of positives to take away from the loss.

Junior Hailey Evans said, “We’re really bonding a lot this year, and that’s good. Before, we didn’t really talk a lot on and off the field and now, our communication is much better. We seem more comfortable with each other, so it’s a lot better on the field.”

“We’re a very defensive team, and we need to work on getting the ball up the field and getting it into the circle,” Maddison Cunfer said. “We want to be able to beat some of our biggest competitors, and even if we don’t do it the first time, we will get them the second.”

The winners’ goals came from Abby Everett and Ana Recker, with assists from Emily Baumgardt and Megan Serfass.

“Our defense did a nice job today, and so did our three midfielders,” Frank said. “I think Abby Everett, Erin Kistler and Megan Serfass kind of controlled the game today.”

With Pen Argyl next on the Bombers’ schedule Saturday morning, Frank hopes his team continues to improve.

“My main goal for the team is that every game we show up and play competitively,” said Frank. “We can’t afford to play down or get too big of a head and think that we’re better than anyone. We need to play every game and every minute of every game.”

HIGH HOPES ... Junior Baumgardt talked about the Bombers’ goals. “We hope to keep improving and make it to the district championship, and even farther, hopefully,” she said.

STATS, STAT! ... Palmerton’s Shannon Dougherty stopped one shot in goal for the winners, while Kendall Heiney had eight saves for the Bulldogs.