It’s only two games into the field hockey season, but so far, things have worked out well for Northwestern.

On Tuesday, the field hockey version of the Mountain Road Rumble played out at Tiger Stadium and Northwestern, was able to ride a four-goal game by junior Carsyn Van Norman to a 9-0 win over rival Northern Lehigh.

Not quite halfway through the first quarter, Van Norman put the first notch on her belt when she played a rebound off goalie Daisy Richards and put it right back on goal for a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, sVan Norman picked up her second goal. The hat trick came with a goal in the second period, and her fourth came when she took a pass from Kaia Grantham with her back to the goal and did a spin move to beat Richards.

“I feel like we communicate well on the front line and read each other very well,” said Van Norman. “We like to go out and get a quick goal because it sets the tone for the rest of the game.”

The Bulldogs (0-2) hoped to escape the first period down just two goals, but Ella Dangello put a different plan into motion. The junior midfielder registered her first goal of the season to make it 3-0 going into the first break. With Northwestern up 4-0 in the second quarter, Northern Lehigh put some pressure on the Tigers back line but came up empty. Sophomore Haley Kerschner was able to clear the ball out, which began a run through the midfield that eventually wound up with Olivia Costa finding Julia Masters wide open on the right side of the cage as the Tigers took a commanding lead.

“I trust my teammates when I get the ball out to them and know that they will receive the ball and look to move it up the field,” said Kerschner. “On that play, I was looking for Rylee (McGinley).”

“Haley has a great deal of confidence, which is well deserved and she plays with that. She is really good at stepping to the ball, and we’re just working on everything coming together,” said coach Lissa Opolsky.

Northwestern (2-0) opened the second half with a 6-0 lead, and coach Opolsky put in younger players. Taylor Langley, a sophomore, used the opportunity to show some skills as she went on to pick up two goals and an assist. Her first goal came from 15 yards out and was perfectly placed. Langley’s second goal came from an assist by sophomore classmate Amelia Birch.

Kamarie Grim, another sophomore, picked up the first goal of the second half to give Northwestern a 7-0 advantage, taking the feed from Langley.

“We’re a lot stronger than we have been in the past as far as depth,” said Opolsky. “For some of them, it’s just getting their stick skills to catch up to their feet when they’re playing against competition.”

Northern Lehigh has a young roster and is in somewhat of a reboot of the system. The players are getting on the job training and will take some lumps.

“We need to work on cutting and marking more, and our speed was a factor today because Northwestern is a very tough, skilled and fast team,” said Northern Lehigh coach Kassandra Beller. “We’re a younger based team, so in years to come, we hope to build our program to make it stronger.”

BATTLE FOR GOALS ... Van Norman’s four goals give her the team lead with five goals in two games. Cara Thomas - who scored three in the season opener against Moravian Academy - is second and Langley has moved into third with her two goals.