CATASAUQUA — It took a bit of a kick start to fire up top seeded Northwestern in Saturday’s Colonial League championship contest.

The talented Tigers always have a huge target on their backs. That’s not surprising when you’re one of the best teams — not only in the league — but also in District 11 and the state.

Rallying around a stingy defense and a hustling offensive attack, Northwestern staved off a determined Saucon Valley squad to post a 2-0 victory and another league title.

The win allowed the Tiger soccer program to complete a sweep, as the boys had claimed a CL title earlier in the day at Catasauqua’s sports complex.

Northwestern punched home a first-half goal with less than three minutes to play thanks to Brook Balliet. Then midway through the second half, the Tigers turned to Sophia Schaffer for the other goal that gave the winners some insurance.

It was the 19th straight win for Northwestern, who will be the top seed in Class 2A in the upcoming District 11 playoffs.

As for being in the role of favorites, Tiger senior defender Syenna Flores expressed how she loves the challenge.

“They came at us with a little more grit,” said Flores, comparing the contest to the team’s first meeting — a 7-3 win by Northwestern. “It was frustrating at times, especially since we know that we have so much offensive firepower.”

That firepower may have been affected a bit by the weather, which has come in varying forms recently.

“The girls showed a lot of grit, especially after we’ve played in the cold for the past few games,” said Tiger head coach Jordan Smith.

Both sides were feeling the heat, as the temperatures hovered in the high 70s. At one time, the officials called time for a heat release.

“We had some cramping,” Smith said. “It was a hard-fought game on both sides.”

Like Flores, Smith relished the idea his team has a lofty ranking.

“I think we should,” said Smith said about taking the favorites role into districts. “We’ve got a great group of girls here, from top to bottom. We can play a very technical game … we’ve scored a heck of a lot of goals this season.”

Goals didn’t come easily, however, on Saturday.

The Tigers finally hit the scoreboard off a turnover late in the first half as the speedy Balliet dribbled in front of the Saucon Valley net and let loose with a booming kick that found the back of the net. There was just 2:23 to play until intermission when Northwestern gained the lead.

“We really had to tough this one out,” said Balliet, a 5-7 senior forward. “They came at us with everything they had, and they were very aggressive.”

Despite the Panthers’ efforts, the Tigers handled the adversity perfectly.

“I wish we were more aggressive,” said Saucon mentor Trent Seibert. “(I felt) we could have been up 2-1, 3-1, but we didn’t capitalize and get it in the back of the net.”

Obviously, kudos has to go to Northwestern’s defense. They kept foiling any pressure the Panthers tried to muster throughout the day.

Contributing to that play were Flores, Dylan Ritter, Mykaela Yanders, not to mention the superb play of Paige Bissell.

Saucon’s offensive approach was pretty silent until late in the first half, when it fired off three of its four first-half shots. It missed a golden opportunity on a free kick by junior Carly Pretopapa from 25 yards out.

Goalkeeper Oliva Reinhart thwarted that attempt with the game still scoreless and seven minutes showing on the clock.

“Oh, we like the challenge, and we really had to come together as a team,” Balliet said. “You could tell at times that their pressure was getting to us, and it was frustrating. They had a fire lit under them … but the communications we had (made) a difference.”

Much to the Panthers’ credit, they kept finding ways to keep the dynamic Tiger offense in check.

“They came at us with a lot of fire,” said Flores, agreeing with Balliet. “Yeah, we had good chances for shots, but it happened for them too. It was frustrating at times, simply because we know we have such a such a strong offensive force, we could have penetrated them more than what we did.”

The attacks were minimal in the second half, and Balliet just missed knocking home a corner kick for a score. There were only a total of five shots on goal, three from the Tigers.

With 23:51 to play, Schaffer gave Northwestern breathing room, stuffing in a shot to make it 2-0.

JUST AN OBSERVATION … At times, Northwestern looked listless but once it found its legs, it got rolling.

BIG FOLLOWING … Tiger fans came in droves and were quite vocal at times.

NEAR TIE … The Panthers came close to tying the game in the second half with 36:33 showing on the clock. Piper Policare missed a point-black shot. Two minutes later, the Panthers got a free kick but misfired.