Northwestern’s boys soccer team put together a season for the ages last fall - one that ended with a state title.

Despite reaching the summit of the sport, the Tigers felt they had unfinished business entering the postseason this year.

Northwestern exorcised the demons of a Colonial League title game loss a season ago with a 3-1 win over Notre Dame (Green Pond) in the final on Saturday.

“It was definitely the missing piece in the puzzle last year,” said Tigers head coach Nate Hunsicker. “In the moment, we were disappointed dropping that game to Southern Lehigh (2-1 in overtime) last year. But we ended up putting a positive spin on it. We used it as motivation for districts and then the state tournament going forward. It definitely kind of lit a fire underneath us.

“This year, one of the goals early in the season was that we wanted to get it back, and we were really fired up, we were very motivated.”

That fire has burned bright for top seed Northwestern (20-0) as it rolled through an unbeaten regular season and vanquished Southern Lehigh 3-0 in the league semis.

A back-and-forth first half with the second-seeded Crusaders (14-4) ended with the score tied 1-1.

But junior Jack Mauro and senior Isaac Frey didn’t wait long to light the fuse for the Tigers in the second half.

Mauro took a corner inside of the first minute after halftime, and Frey finished it with a header to give Northwestern a 2-1 lead just 0:37 into the second half, an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish.

“Jack put in a great ball and I was able to go up there and put it away,” said six-foot-one inch tall Frey. “It really shifted the momentum for us. It was a big goal for us. We were able to keep our cool, and we found our form in the second half, possess a little bit, get the ball moving and get the result.”

The Tigers didn’t have a corner in the first half. Mauro and Frey made the first one count.

“It’s one of our set pieces that we run off corners where we kind of pivot somebody far post, and Jack sent the perfect ball, Isaac synced it up and timed it perfectly,” said Hunsicker, whose team had eight corners in the second half. “Credit to him. It’s a ball you want to finish and probably should finish, but it’s easier said than done, especially in a big moment like a championship game and he made it happen. It was just huge.”

Northwestern pressured throughout the second half and increased its lead to 3-1 when senior Matt Johnson, who set the program’s career points and goal record this season, found freshman Cole Mertz on a perfectly placed ball with under 10 minutes to play.

It was an immediate impact from Mertz, who entered the game as a sub.

“When I went in, I was only in there for a little bit,” said Mertz. “But when I saw Matt running I was almost at midfield and I just kept running and saw the ball coming, and it was just a rush.”

Sophomore Logan Mesics lifted the lid for the Tigers, scoring with 24:15 to play in the first half to make it 1-0.

Notre Dame answered with 17:17 to play in the half when junior Paul Hartman ripped a ball into the net off a free kick, a play setup by a long run by senior Hunter Zellers that ultimately drew a foul.

Zellers put a shot on goal in the final three minutes of the first half, but Northwestern goalie Brandon Krapf came up with the save to keep the game tied at 1-1. The Crusaders also had a ball find its way into the box in the waning seconds of the first half but Krapf was able to cover it.

“Credit to our defense, they stood tall all day today,” said Hunsicker. “They played a remarkable game. The one goal off the set piece, that’s going to happen. But outside of that, it was just solid from the back line, and Brandon. Brandon was awesome.”

Northwestern earned the top seed in the District 11 Class 2A bracket. The Tigers will host the winner of the Collegium Charter School/Nativity game in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. as they seek their fifth-straight District 11 title, with the first three coming in Class 3A.