There is always a wind — not just a breeze — blowing through Tiger Stadium in New Tripoli.

On Thursday night, the wind combined with cold temperatures and periods of rain made for a terrible night, but Northwestern Lehigh and Parkland battled through the elements to play an impressive game of lacrosse with the Tigers coming out on top in a 16-12 offensive battle.

Most of the game featured one team or the other going on an extended streak of goals while keeping their opponent from running up their score. Northwestern opened with five goals in the first 7:30 of the game. Parkland then scored four unanswered goals of its own before the Tigers responded with three goals in four minutes to give themselves an 8-4 lead with 4:04 left in the second quarter.

By the end of the quarter, Parkland put up three more goals and at halftime, Northwestern held just an 8-7 advantage.

Preferring to have a little breathing room, Northwestern came out of halftime on fire — even in the cold, rainy weather. In the first six minutes of the third quarter, seniors Olivia Costa and Cara Thomas scored two goals each and sophomore Ella Collins added her fourth goal of the night for a 13-7 lead. The third quarter also saw Thomas score her 100th career point.

“The girls practiced extremely hard yesterday and really dug deep,” said coach Pam Colistra. “We had a very nice talk before the game to get our mindset, and I really think it sparked us and reignited that fire that we need to play with.”

By the end of the night, Northwestern had bent but never broke, and was able to lead the game from start to finish. Costa, Collins, and Thomas all had hat tricks with Costa picking up a double hat trick with six goals. Anna Sensinger led Parkland with four goals.

“I’m really proud of my teammates and how far we have all come and all the warmth we have together,” said Costa. “We all contribute and have a specific part and special role on the field.”

As the Trojans attempted a fourth-quarter rally, Northwestern stepped in to prevent Parkland from stringing together any momentum.

Sensinger scored two goals in a short span of time late in the quarter, but Fagan interrupted that momentum by scoring between the two goals to deflate any thoughts of a comeback.

The Tigers have now won three of their last four meetings with Parkland.

“If we keep playing like we did today, we will be in good shape,” said Colistra. “We need to come out of the gates from the first whistle and play as hard as we did tonight. Our girls never stopped tonight, it was a good game, and they showed a lot of trust in each other and a lot of confidence.”

MILESTONES … Thomas scored her 100th point in the win, but two other players have reached milestones recently. Costa has set the school record for draw controls and groundballs, while Fagan also recorded her 100th draw control recently.

IN THE ROUGH … The Tigers are entering a rough stretch of their schedule. After a trip to Scranton Prep and a home game against Freedom (3-5), Northwestern has to battle Easton (6-3) and Nazareth (9-2) in back-to-back road games.

Parkland 2 5 2 3 - 12

Northwestern 5 3 6 2 - 16

Goals: Parkland - Anna Sensinger 4, Addison Winfield 3, Lila Temchatin 2, Samantha Schippell 1, Milla Hahn 1, Olivia Esteban 1; Northwestern - Olivia Costa 6, Ella Collins 5, Cara Thomas 3, Olivia Fagan 1, Sydney Wright 1; Assists: Parkland - Addison Winfield 4, Anna Sensinger 1, Olivia Esteban 1; Northwestern - Sydney Wright 1, Skyler Dion 1, Cara Thomas 1, Olivia Fagan 1, Ella Collins 1; Saves: Parkland - Audrina Stewart 8; Northwestern - Ashley Yacynyct 6.