Senior Jacob Van Lierop and sophomore Cole Mertz continue to put on a show for the Tiger boys soccer team’s offense.

The two have combined for 46 goals and 19 assists on the season, including getting four goals each in a 9-1 win over Lehighton (3-4-0, 4-4-0) Tuesday night.

Lehighton opened by keeping nine or 10 players behind the ball, throwing a bit of a wrinkle at the Tigers (8-0-0 Colonial, 10-0-0 overall). But Northwestern’s offense worked its way through the wrinkle.

Van Lierop and Mertz sort of split up the first half with the senior getting three goals in an 11-minute span and Mertz notching four goals in seven minutes.

Van Lierop’s opening goal came from the right side of the net as he headed the ball on goal just off the hands of keeper Bryce Miller.

On the next two goals, Van Lierop was shooting from a further distance but had no trouble finding the goal.

Off an assist from Jack Mauro, Van Lierop put a shot past Miller from the right side. The next goal was from 15-yards out directly in front of the goal after a pass from Caedan Stangil to make it 3-0 with 14:31 left in the first half.

The next seven minutes belonged to Mertz, who got his first goal on a shot from Van Lierop that appeared headed into the goalie’s hands. Instead of Miller getting a save, Mertz stepped in front of and redirected the shot into the net for a 4-0 lead.

The sophomore then put on some impressive moves around the net to fake out a defender and the goalie for his second goal of the night with 10:50 left to play.

Before another minute could run off the clock, Mertz added his third goal off an assist from Stangil and his fourth came on a header with 6:12 left in the first half to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

“I got the ball wide and took a kid one-on-one and beat him and then the goalie kind of let me get around him and I just finished the play,” said Mertz of his second goal.

Van Lierop added his fourth goal when he lined a shot to the goalie’s left off another assist from Stangil, his third of the game.

Stangil, a junior, went from assist maker to goal scorer with :23 left in the first half when he took a feed from Jack Mauro and beat Miller for a 9-0 lead going into halftime.

Van Lierop has a team-high 33 goals this season and Mertz upped his total to 13, putting him second on the team in goals. Van Lierop had a total of 31 varsity goals coming into the season.

“I’m playing up top now, so that makes a difference in being able to get goals,” said Van Lierop. “We have a great team, and they get me the ball and give me the chance to finish some of the chances. Right now, everything is going well, and everything is rolling, everything is going smoothly.”

Lehighton junior Konner Malesnik used his speed to get a clear look at the goal and put a shot past sophomore goalie Dean Carl, who took over for starter Brandon Krapf to start the second half.

The Tigers also picked up wins over Pen Argyl last Thursday in a 9-1 win and beat Southern Lehigh 7-2 the following day.

In the win over the Green Knights (0-5-0, 3-7-0), Van Lierop had three goals with Mertz adding two others. Mauro, Mesica, sophomore Cayden Lloyd and freshman Weston Killar all scored goals. Killar’s goal was the first of his varsity career for Northwestern.

In beating Southern Lehigh (5-1-0, 7-2-1), Northwestern got two goals each from Mesics and Mertz, and one each from Mauro and Van Lierop.

Northwestern now has scored 70 goals in 10 games with 32 of those goals coming in their last four games. The defense has allowed just eight goals on the season with Krapf holding a goals-against average (GAA) of just 0.732 this season.

The Tigers have already clinched a spot in the District 11 playoffs. They are currently the top-ranked team in Class 2A and one of just three undefeated teams in all of District 11. The Tigers are close to clinching a spot in the Colonial League playoffs.