It had been 18 years since Northwestern’s last Colonial League field hockey title. This year’s Tigers ended that drought by taking down Southern Lehigh in Saturday’s title game just three days after dispensing of Bangor in a semifinal game.

Championship

N’western-Sou. Lehigh

Greenleigh McGehee doesn’t get a ton of chances to score goals.

The three-year starting defender on the Northwestern field hockey team gets all her shots in certain situations. She made the most of her chances in Saturday’s Colonial League field hockey title game at Salisbury High School.

McGehee knocked in both Northwestern goals in a 2-1 win over Southern Lehigh.

Greenleigh’s second goal Saturday broke a 1-1 tie with just 1:35 left in the game, all but sealing the win for the Tigers.

“I play defense,” she said. “The only time I’m up in the circle is on corners.

“Lauren (Schellhamer) had an amazing top pass and she passed it to me because I was wide open. I rolled in and went through a defender and shot.”

The win is the Tigers first over Southern Lehigh (11-1 overall) in several years. Results on the Colonial League website don’t go back far enough to show their last victory over the Spartans.

That dry spell includes a pair of one-goal losses this season (3-2 on Sept. 18 and 1-0 on Oct. 8) and an overtime loss in last year’s league title game.

“We’ve had our fair share of games we’ve been down and come back,” said Northwestern head coach Lissa Opolsky. “Drawing on their experience last year in league playoffs, we were down two goals to Southern with a few minutes to go and we ended up tying it and losing in overtime. All these guys were on the field when that happened. I think that experience put them in a comfortable situation and they were able to execute.”

The Tigers (17-4 overall) took the early lead on McGehee’s goal with 1:25 left in the first quarter.

“Lauren was at the top of the circle with an amazing insert from Reagan (Hernandez),” said McGehee. “It went to Lauren (Schellhamer) and then it bounced off the goal keeper. I dodged one defender, then I rocketed it in with a shot.”

While the Spartans had six corners to Northwestern’s four in the first half, the Tigers capitalized and had the better part of the possession over the game’s first 30 minutes.

Southern Lehigh came out in the second half and took momentum, tying the game on a Bri Stock goal with 12:01 left in the third quarter and controlling possession for much of the third period and into the fourth.

Tiger goal keeper Maxine Hoffman made a few big saves in the second half and the defense, led by seniors McGehee, Charlotte Horn and Karleigh Hobel, limited the Spartans to just one goal. Southern Lehigh averaged 3.5 goals per game this season.

After the Spartans tied the game, Hoffman was determined not to let her team fall behind.

“From watching most of their games, they really go for the post,” Hoffman said. “I kind of knew it was coming. I felt like I did everything I could. The goal was just not to let another goal go in and not go into overtime.”

Somewhere around the middle of the fourth quarter, momentum shifted and Northwestern began to pressure Spartan goal keeper Grace Jeitner.

“Some of the seniors definitely stepped up in making some different decisions and that led to some of our opportunities,” said Opolsky. “It was definitely a tribute to their leadership on the field, through their actions and what they were saying and doing.”

Semifinal

Northwestern-Bangor

The Tigers defeated Bangor, 2-0, in the Colonial League semifinals.

Lauren Schellhamer scored both of Northwestern’s goals. She took a pass from Reagan Hernandez and fired it into the net for the game’s first score with 8:54 left in the second quarter. She then made a great individual play, weaving around several Bangor defenders, to add an insurance goal with 8:40 remaining in the game.

“Lauren has been our leading scorer this season,” said Tiger head coach Lissa Opolsky. “She does a lot of work for us off the ball, so it’s nice when she gets rewarded with goals.

“It’s so important to get the first goal of the game so that was big, and then the second goal she made a really nice play. Bangor had been putting some pressure on our defense in the second half, but that second goal by Lauren stopped any momentum they were trying to build.”

Schellhamer said that even though she got the goals, the key for Northwestern during the last few weeks has been getting contributions up and down the lineup. “I’m super excited to get another win and get a chance to play for a Colonial League championship,” Schellhamer said. “Our team has been playing so well lately. Everyone is working together, everyone is contributing.

“We have eight seniors in the lineup so we are a very experienced team and I think that is showing. We are playing our best hockey of the season at the perfect time.”