WHITEHALL - The outcome of the Colonial League tournament could have been a letdown for Northwestern’s field hockey team.

Instead, it was a learning experience for the Tigers.

Those lessons paid dividends in the district tournament last Thursday as Northwestern won its third District 11 title in four years, topping Wilson 3-0 to capture the Class 1A crown.

The league final ended with a 3-0 loss to Southern Lehigh, but it also came after a win over the Warriors in the semis.

“We talked about the fact that the Colonial League championship wasn’t exactly how we wanted to play, but it also put some experience under our belt for kind of curbing our emotions and stuff like that,” said Tiger head coach Lissa Opolsky. “And we had a little bit of a different kind of game plan (against Wilson) - we double-teamed No. 5 (Melissa Shunk) to try and take her out of the game, which I didn’t plan on doing for the entire game, but it worked, so we kept doing it.

“But it was a testament to how willing the girls were to just do whatever it took to play some good hockey. It was awesome. It’s a testament to how they’ve come along, and for the seniors, this is three out of four (years winning a district title) for them. They were disappointed with last year, and they came back with something to prove. They wanted it.”

The third-seeded Tigers, who also won district titles in 2019 and 2020, pressured in the opening quarter, generating 10 corner opportunities. But the Warriors’ defense held strong, keeping Northwestern out of the cage to keep the game scoreless through the first quarter.

Northwestern broke through in the second quarter when Josephine Wehr found the back of the cage for her fourth goal of the season off a ball sent in by Daniella Lister to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead with 6:53 to play in the first half.

“It was just corner after corner, and I knew that eventually, after one of the corners, we will get a goal, because it’s what we always do,” said Wehr. “It doesn’t matter how many corners we get, eventually we will find the goal, and just being there was just my job, and eventually we got the goal.”

Wilson, the top seed, generated scoring chances late in the quarter, created when Shunk forced a turnover to give the Warriors their first corner with 3:41 to play in the second quarter.

Shunk had another shot opportunity late in the first half, but the Tigers’ defense and goalie Gabrielle Gober were able to turn it aside.

Northwestern had 14 corners in the first half to two for Wilson.

“I know we always start off a little bit slow in the first half, and what happens is we get in a little bit of a hole, and they were pressuring us and they played well,” said Warriors’ coach Scott Horton. “They obviously had a strategy for the game, and that’s how it works. They pressured hard in the beginning, we started off slow, and fortunately we were able to still keep it close at that point. But we were still trying to dig out of that hole, and it was a challenge, obviously.”

Still holding a 1-0 lead, senior Brinley Rex took control of the ball once she got inside the 25 and dribbled around Wilson defenders before beating the Warriors’ goalie to make it 2-0 with 12:23 to play in the third quarter. It was Rex’s 21st goal of the season.

“It definitely feels good (to have a lead), and it does take a little bit of the pressure off, but we kept saying to ourselves and to act like we were down one,” said Rex. “We didn’t want to get two, and then just start playing lazy, so we just kept telling each other to act like we were down one so then we kept on playing really hard.”

The Tigers pressured again midway through the third quarter with four more corner opportunities, but the Wilson defense was able to keep the deficit at 2-0.

Northwestern increased its advantage to 3-0 with 8:58 to play in the fourth quarter when sophomore Cara Thomas scored off a corner.

Wilson had an opportunity in the first minute of the fourth quarter with a corner that resulted in a hard shot from Shunk, which was deflected out of play.

Rex and the Tigers’ other upperclassmen remember the last time the program won a district title. But this one was different. And it’s something none of them will forget.

“It’s very, very special,” said Rex. “I’m so close to the senior class and I love all of them, and I love my team. It just means a lot. I’m so excited.”

Upperclassmen in Northwestern’s starting lineup Thursday included Rex, Wehr, Lister, Gabrielle Gober, Brooke Page and Claire Costa.