ORWIGSBURG — Mykaela Yanders was closer to the sideline than she was to the goal, and to make things worse her angle toward the goal wasn’t great.

Deciding against taking a shot, the junior defender looked for some help in front of the goal, and played the ball in on a crossing pass but wound up scoring the first goal of the game for Northwestern Lehigh.

That jumpstarted things for the Tigers, who went on to beat defending state champion Central Columbia in the PIAA 2A quarterfinals Saturday by a 5-2 score.

The win helped erase the memory of a 4-0 loss that the Tigers suffered last season at the hands of the Blue Jays in the semifinal round of states.

“Paige (Bissell) dropped the ball back to me and I was looking for the cross, but it ended up with me shooting it and the wind helped me and put it right over her (goalie Braelyn Moran’s) hands,” said Yanders. “I was actually surprised that it went in.”

Just prior to Yanders’ goal, Moran made a diving play to stop a shot by Bissell as Northwestern looked to gain early momentum and a bit of confidence.

As it turned out, the momentum was short-lived as the Blue Jays got a goal from senior Haley Bull, who was a thorn in their side in last year’s semifinal loss.

While the momentum shifted, the confidence was still all there for Northwestern.

The Tigers (26-0) were awarded a free kick from about 35 yards out in what closely resembled a goal by Syenna Flores in the opening round game where she put one into the net from about the same distance.

This time, the senior defender kept the ball on the ground and watched as Sophia Schaffer beat Moran to the ball and tucked it into the net under Moran, who dove to make a stop but came up empty as Northwestern regained the lead 2-1.

Four minutes later, Bissell took a pass from Dylan Ritter and headed it over one defender, maneuvered around a second and then took on Moran one-on-one. Again, Bissell slid around her to tap the ball into the goal for her 32nd goal of the season as the Tigers held a 3-1 halftime lead.

“It’s exciting because we lost to them last year in the semifinal, so to come back and beat them in the quarterfinal is great. We knew we had to play tough and play physical, and we did that and took care of it offensively and defensively and got a good result,” said Bissell of beating the Jays.

Both Bissell and goalie Olivia Reinhart took over in the second half as Bissell dished off two assists, and Reinhart showed off her ability to make athletic stops both in the air and on the ground as Central Columbia (20-2) looked for an opening to fight back.

Bissell’s first assist came on a pass to Schaffer, who put her shot past a diving Moran to give the Tigers a three-goal advantage.

Bissell then added another assist when Kherington Yezik, who got to the ball in front of the goal just prior to it bouncing, was able to redirect it and make it a 5-1 game.

In the last minute of play, Central’s Kayl Dreckman launched a shot toward the upper part of the goal and Reinhart leapt to make a play, but the ball went off her hands to cut the lead to 5-2.

“We played great. I knew at halftime that we couldn’t sit on that 3-1 lead, and to be able to go out there and get that fourth and fifth goal was deflating for them, and it boosted us,” said Northwestern head coach Jordan Smith.

“It’s the fourth time that the program has gotten to the semifinals but haven’t been able to get past that, so we’ll try to make that next step on Tuesday.”

ANOTHER CENTRAL OPPONENT … Northwestern defeated Allentown Central Catholic in the District 11 finals, and then pushed aside Central Columbia in the quarterfinals. On Tuesday, the Tigers will see Central Catholic again when they meet in the semifinal round of states. The game will be played at Emmaus’ Memorial Field and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.

DOING SOME DAMAGE … The Blue Jays came into the game with one loss and only 10 goals allowed all season, but finished the year with two losses and 15 goals allowed. Northwestern handed them both their losses and with their 1-0 win over Central Columbia early in the regular season, scored six of the 15 goals that the Lady Jays allowed on the season.