The message was clear from Northwestern field hockey coach Lissa Opolsky to her players.

Start fast. Finish strong.

It’s been the same mentality that helped the Tigers claim a Colonial League title and the top seed in the District 11 Class 1A tournament.

And it was the mindset Northwestern brought into Thursday’s Class 1A final against Palmerton, one that helped the Tigers secure a 3-0 win over the Blue Bombers and their third straight district title.

Northwestern (20-3) didn’t have to wait long to strike first Thursday, as junior Haley Kerschner scored off a corner played in by senior Ella Dangello less than three minutes into the game to make it 1-0.

The Tigers struck again in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter. This time it was junior Hannah Gober scoring off a penalty corner inserted by Dangello to push the advantage to 2-0.

“When we played Palmerton it was always like a fun, heated rivalry against them, so we know they’re always going to come in swinging, they’re going to come in hard,” said Gober. “So getting a goal early, setting the tone, that was our emphasis coming in. Coach O (Opolsky) said you have to set the tone, you have to set the dynamic, push the direction of the ball, you have to dictate the play. That was our emphasis.”

It’s worked for Opolsky and her Tigers, who have not allowed a goal since a 7-1 win over Saucon Valley in the quarterfinals of the Colonial League tournament on Oct. 12.

Generating the early pressure — and scoring chances — was exactly the start Northwestern needed to keep that momentum going.

“We take a ton of reps at practice with our corners,” said Gober, a First Team All-State selection a year ago. “I like to just shoot on (goalie) Ryan (Smolinsky) all the time. It’s really just about getting comfortable with your insert, getting that quick shot off. We’ve got the reps and we’re confident in what we do on the field. Corners are always important to take the opportunity that’s there; it’s like a foul shot in basketball, you’ve got to capitalize when you can.

“Ella (Dangello) had a really clean insert to me, so my focus was just to get a quick shot off, get it hard on cage and let’s place it nice on the post. And I know Cara (Thomas), Carsyn (Van Norman) and Liv (Costa) will clean it up for me if it doesn’t.”

The score remained 2-0 through the second quarter, though both teams created chances. Costa and Thomas both nearly put the ball in the back of the cage within the first minute of the quarter, while the second-seeded Bombers pressured around the Northwestern goal with 9:00 left in the period but the Tigers’ defense kept the ball out.

Palmerton (11-8-1) had a pair of corners about a minute later that Northwestern was able to withstand to keep it a 2-0 game.

In the third, the Tigers nearly had double-digit corner attempts, but the Bombers’ defense and goalie Sarah Sabo were able to keep the ball out of the cage, some on sensational saves.

“We would have liked to put a few more in consistently,” said Opolsky. “But their goalkeeper did a great job, too, so you have to give credit there.

“They (Palmerton) packed the circle there with a ton of people in there, so that was just difficult to get by.”

Northwestern added another goal midway through the fourth, as Cara Thomas converted for her 29th goal of the season, which ranks second on the team behind Olivia Costa’s 30.

The Tigers have tremendous depth, with Van Norman (18) and Gober (11) also registering double-digit goals this season.

“I was very excited coming into this season because I knew we had that mentality, next girl up,” said Gober. “We feel confident that we can put another girl in, everyone has strengths and we push each other to the limits. We practice really hard because we know if one option isn’t working, someone else can step up and fill that role. That’s really important, because you’re not always going to be on, and you have to be ready.”

While the Bombers didn’t secure a district title, they did punch their ticket to states. For head coach Meg Leadbetter, her team is exactly where she wants it to be as the program continues to build a culture of success.

“I am extremely proud of them,” said Leadbetter, in her third season leading the program. “The girls have a great attitude, they’re proud of one another. I was just telling them in that huddle that this is exactly where this group is supposed to be right now. We knew we were playing against a great team, and if they had the opportunity for something, they were going to take it. But at the same time, we played the best hockey we’ve ever played against them. We made them work for this win tonight, and that’s exactly what we wanted.

“I want people to know what Palmerton field hockey is, and we’ve done it back-to-back now. They’re so excited for states. They’re exactly where a coach would want them to be.”

PREVIOUS MEETINGS ... Northwestern won both regular season meetings against Palmerton, 5-1 on Sept. 25 and 4-0 on Oct. 2.

LAST YEAR ... The two teams also met in the district final a year ago, with both squads again advancing to states. Palmerton, which also reached the Colonial League final last year, advanced to the second round of states. Both programs will be looking to move on in states this year.

SEASON OF SUCCESS ... This marks the first season since 2020 that Northwestern has claimed Colonial League and District 11 titles in the same year.