CATASAUQUA — Sure, Northwestern Lehigh School District might technically be located in New Tripoli.

But the Tiger faithful know it by another name.

And Saturday only strengthened its stronghold in a wide variety of sports, especially soccer.

Northwestern’s boys went back-to-back as Colonial League champs, blanking Moravian Academy 3-0.

And just hours later, the Tigers collected another trophy, with the girls defending their league soccer title.

It capped a week that saw Northwestern win three league championships in as many days, with field hockey delivering the hardware Thursday.

The top-seeded and unbeaten Tigers played to their strength Saturday against the Lions, with stifling defense and sensational scoring from senior Jacob van Lierop, who delivered a hat trick.

“It means a lot,” said van Lierop. “They call our school ‘Title Town,’ we’re always winning titles. For all the people that show up, it’s always great to have an audience and a good crowd. It helps us play a little better. It’s just always fun, and it means a lot, and I hope it means a lot to them, too.”

Northwestern (21-0) put on a show, especially in the second half.

Van Lierop helped the Tigers snap a scoreless tie with 24:30 left in the second half, managing to settle a ball before popping it over the goalie’s head and under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.

It was the 55th goal of the season for van Lierop, who has been a tour de force for the Tigers this fall.

“He’s a special player,” said Northwestern head coach Nate Hunsicker. “And he’s obviously having a tremendous season this year; I think he’s three goals away now from setting the Lehigh Valley single-season scoring record, which is just phenomenal. He’s a problem for other teams to match up against. And when teams are keying in on him, it creates space and openings and matchups in our favor for other guys. And we have a plethora of kids who can find the back of the net in their own right.”

Van Lierop has spearheaded this attack throughout the season, and that continued Saturday. The senior scored on a penalty kick with 20:16 remaining to push the Tigers’ lead to 2-0.

His final goal came on a tremendous finish with under :30 to play to punctuate another spectacular all-around performance.

“It’s just the team working well together,” said van Lierop. “We don’t have to worry about problems at the back because we have that backline. The midfield is going to keep the ball, and they’re going to get it to me, and me and Cole (Mertz) are going to do our thing up top. We’re going to try to keep it going, keep it rolling, and hopefully we can win it all.”

Moravian (14-7) generated scoring chances past the midway point of the first half, as Hasan Strandzhev hit a shot wide with 18 minutes to play and Selman Eris sent a loose ball in front high and wide a minute later. The third-seeded Lions pressured again in the final five minutes of the half, but the Northwestern defense and goalie Brandon Krapf stood strong.

Northwestern created chances as well, with Zachary Walker sending a ball in front that van Lierop nearly finished with a bicycle kick in the 20th minute. Van Lierop used fancy footwork to get around defenders and send a ball across the front of the net about a minute later, and Mertz nearly put in a header after a free kick hit the post with 17 minutes left in the first half.

Van Lierop nearly broke through in the ninth minute of the second half, hitting a shot that slammed off the crossbar and went straight down before being cleared by Moravian. Van Lierop had a clever free kick just three minutes later that seemed to hit the post and crossbar to stay out and keep the game scoreless.

But Van Lierop and the Tigers, like they have through their previous 20 games this season, wouldn’t be denied.

“I’m really excited for the boys, they worked hard,” said Hunsicker. “I thought we played a really complete game today. We were a little unlucky with some of the finishing; we hit the crossbar and the post a few times. But overall, I thought we played a really solid, complete game.”

TOUGH MATCHUP ... The Tigers defeated Moravian 3-0 in their only regular season meeting. “It’s definitely tough playing a team over and over again,” said Northwestern senior Jack Mauro. “And we might see them again in districts, or maybe even the state playoffs. But we just have to play our game, and I’m confident if we play our game, I’m confident against anybody.”

UP NEXT ... Both teams will be in the District 11 Class 2A bracket. The Tigers, who won a state title in 2022, are the top seed in districts and host No. 8 Palisades Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the quarters. The Lions are seeded fifth and will travel to No. 4 Pine Grove Wednesday.

Moravian Academy 0 0 - 0

Northwestern 0 3 - 3

Goals - Northwestern: Jacob van Lierop 3; Assists - Northwestern: Cayden Lloyd 1, Logan Mesics 1.