For a Northwestern Lehigh field hockey team that suffered plenty of big losses through graduation from last year’s league and district championship team, all eyes were on the Lady Tigers to see how they would be able to compete this season.

For a while, it seemed like the young team was going to struggle as it got out of the gate with two straight losses and were 4-5-0 at the midway point, but things turned around from there and Northwestern finished strong enough to qualify for both the Colonial League and District 11 playoffs, finishing league play with a 9-6-1 record and an overall mark of 10-7-1.

“We’ve grown a lot over the course of the season,” said Tiger head coach Lissa Opolsky. “We’ve had to ebb and flow and gel and figure things out both with them on the field and me with the coaching staff. We’ve had to find what fits, what we’re good at, what we’re not good at and what we have potential to do. They’re an open book and just willing to learn. Even over the past week we have at least seen a lot of growth and we’re hoping they’ll take that into the postseason and see what happens.”

Opolsky remembers the 2018 postseason when her team came into districts as the number-seven seed and nobody was paying any attention to them. In the first round they beat second seeded Moravian Academy and then shutout the number-three seed Wilson to advance to the District 11 finals against Lehighton, the tournament’s top seed. The Indians came away with a 2-0 win, but the team had set a winning tone that led to district championships in each of the next two seasons.

“It’s a new season and seeding goes out the window,” said Opolsky. “That game on that day is the only thing that matters. These seniors were freshmen when we were the seventh seed last time around in districts, so they have that experience, but otherwise, it will be a new experience for us not being at the top. I think that can be good though because it shows you who you really are.”

In the Colonial League playoffs, the Lady Tigers will come in as the number-six seed, another unfamiliar place for them to be. However, with the team playing well down the stretch and winning four of their final five games, it’s hard to bet against them.

“We’ve improved a lot over the season, and we’ve worked hard and have all grown together as the season went on,” said junior Brooke Page after a regular season-ending win at Northern Lehigh. “We’re as prepared as we can be for the postseason and we’re all pretty excited.”

With the program having put itself among the better field hockey programs in the area, nobody will be taking the Lady Tigers lightly. Even so, the target on their backs is not nearly as large as it has been in previous seasons and this young team has a shot at making their own mark even though they’re not among the top seeds. Even if they don’t repeat in league or district play, Northwestern Lehigh has set a course for a climb back to the top.

“Everybody knows we are starting fresh,” said Opolsky. “I think these guys have found their own groove and with the postseason and next summer, I think we’re really going to see some growth out of these girls.”