Not all championships are created equal.

There are many paths to the top. And the Northwestern boys soccer program knows them well.

The Tigers had won four district titles in the last five years, claiming the Class 2A crown in 2015, before winning back-to-back 3A titles in 2016 and 2017 and again last year.

But they navigated uncharted territory in 2020 in a season of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

That Northwestern celebrated another District 11 championship with a 3-0 victory over Blue Mountain in the Class 3A final last Thursday was a testament to the program’s winning culture, one that has created an undeniable dynasty.

“It is what it is, call it what you want,” Tigers’ head coach Nate Hunsicker said of winning five district titles in six seasons. “I think at the 3A level, it speaks volumes (because) we’ve had to run through some really tough teams through the years.

“Saucon (Valley); Central (Catholic) has been there when they were in this classification; the annual district battle between us and Southern Lehigh. It’s no easy task, but we’ve had great kids and they work their butts off to get to this point.”

The fourth-seeded Tigers built on the momentum of a 1-0 win in double overtime against top seed Southern Lehigh in the semis.

“It’s fantastic to get another title under our belt,” said Colin Coffield, who scored Northwestern’s opening goal against Blue Mountain. “That was the goal from the beginning of the season. Northwestern, they get a lot of titles, and we didn’t want to be the team to let them down. We accomplished that goal, and we’re super happy to get another district title.”

This is a squad that is battled tested and unwavering.

Northwestern’s most recent title triumph came in the wake of a disappointing loss to the Spartans in the Colonial League final, one that was decided on penalty kicks.

“We never knew, would this moment come, would it not come,” said Hunsicker. “As long as we were able to come out and play, we had supreme confidence in ourselves to make this run. We ran into some tough sides. That game against Southern was a battle. We knew that Blue Mountain would present a different challenge in the type of players that they have and the way that they play.

“But I think it took us a little bit to adjust to that, but once we did, I really thought we picked them apart in the second half.”

Jeff Garcia, who scored the Tigers’ second goal against Blue Mountain and had a hat trick in the quarterfinal win over Bangor, has been a key part of the offense since returning from a hamstring injury that cost him time during the first part of the season.

“As long as COVID wasn’t stopping us, I knew and I believed in these guys that we had the people, and we just had to put them in the right places, kind of similar to last year,” said Hunsicker. “We didn’t make as many drastic switches as we did last year, but we made some adjustments throughout the course of the year after we dropped some games early on.

“We weren’t healthy early in the season. We didn’t have Jeff Garcia ... and obviously getting him back, it just obviously makes a huge difference for us. His statistics, and just the fact that he makes everybody around him better. It really showed against Blue Mountain. They man-marked him the entire game, and he was still able to get free and make some things happen for us, too.”

From seasoned veterans to fresh-faced underclassmen, the Tigers have shown they can handle big moments.

“We’re a very veteran side,” said Coffield. “We’ve had teams in the past go to state finals, we’ve had teams win Colonial League and districts, get all the way to states. We’re learned from our older players.

“I’ve had a brother that made it to state semifinals, and he’s had friends that made it to finals, and they really teach us to just play our game, play relaxed and we’ll be fine because Northwestern is a team that’s built on confidence. We know we can play well, and we know we can play with each other.”

The Tigers next opportunity comes tonight at 7 p.m. in the first round of the state tournament against District 12 champion Archbishop Ryan.

It’s another chance to add to the program’s already long legacy, one that was strengthened with another district title last week.

“Every senior wants to go out with this win,” said Hunsicker. “So we’re looking forward to states and moving on and continuing to hopefully make another run and see where things go.”