Palmerton became the latest school to try to shut down the surging Northwestern Lehigh girls soccer team.

Like previous opponents, the Bombers were unable to execute that task.

Cammy Fitch scored three times, and a pair of freshmen added single goals as the unbeaten Tigers posted a 5-0 Colonial League victory.

Fitch got her work done early by scoring two first-half goals and adding the finale at the start of the second half.

Just seven minutes into the game, Fitch played a rebound that came out to her in a perfect spot to slip a shot past goalkeeper Emma Snyder for a 1-0 Tiger lead.

Northwestern was able to command play and continued to find itself with open space to work with. At the 22:09 mark, Fitch took advantage of that to add her second goal of the day.

“My teammates helped to put me into spots where I can get some opportunities,” said the Tiger senior. “We move the ball around well and try to look for the best openings to take our shots.”

Perhaps the best-looking goal of the day came when Fitch fired from about 30 yards out. There was no trickery to the shot other than the placement. Fitch launched the shot toward the top of the goal and arched it perfectly as it dropped under the crossbar, just high enough to get past Snyder’s outstretched fingers. The ball glanced off Snyder’s hand and into the back of the net as the Tigers took a commanding 3-0 lead early in the second half.

A number of younger players have made an impact with Northwestern this season, and much of the second half belonged to them. Sophia Schaffer added a goal with 20:34 left to play, and Kherington Yezik capped the scoring when she scored with 5:28 remaining. Both Schaffer and Yezik are freshmen.

“We’re working together really well,” said Fitch. “We have a pretty new team in a sense of having a lot of underclassmen starters, but we have found how each other play and have a lot of chemistry with each other.”

While Snyder allowed five goals, coach Jon Perloni credited her with making some athletic stops to prevent the game from getting even more one-sided.

“She has been very important, and plays her part with the team well and is able to make a lot of last-second plays to save goals,” said Perloni. “She comes up big for us.”

The Northwestern defense also came up big – again. The win was the seventh shutout of the season for the Tigers, who haven’t allowed multiple goals in any game this season. Junior defender Syenna Flores pointed out a key for the team’s defense.

“It’s definitely communication. Olivia (Spatz) and I started together last year and developed a really good bond and there is a good chemistry between us,” said Flores. “The communication between us and the outside backs is good, and that has been a key in building our chemistry. We have been able to play through the back with our passing rather than just sending the ball up.”

JOIN THE PARTY … Earlier this week, Northwestern (8-0-0 Colonial, 11-0-0 overall) became the first team to clinch a District 11 playoff spot this season. It was joined shortly after that by Parkland. Northwestern and Parkland are two of the four teams without a loss this season and will play at Parkland (8-0-1 EPC, 9-0-1 overall) on Friday afternoon. Despite the loss, Palmerton (4-3-0, 7-4-0) is still very much in the hunt for both league and district playoff berths.

A COLONIAL BATTLE … The top spot in girls’ soccer in the Colonial League is still up for grabs. In addition to Northwestern being undefeated, Palisades also has a spotless 6-0-0 league mark. Saucon Valley (5-1-0) and Northern Lehigh (4-1-0) are also hanging around hoping for someone to falter. Palisades plays at Northwestern on Oct. 9 in the regular season finale. Northern Lehigh and Saucon Valley play each other Oct. 5.