Northwestern Lehigh failed to record a win during its first season of girls varsity lacrosse in 2019.

One year later, the high school sports world shut down because of COVID.

When spring sports returned in 2021, the team won for the first time in the program’s history. Northwestern went on to add three more victories that year.

A year ago, Northwestern won just three times, but there were signs that the program was heading in the right direction. The Tigers were starting to be more competitive in games, suffering five losses by four goals or less.

The program’s building process appears to have reached a new level this season.

The 2023 Tigers won their first three games this season before suffering a narrow 16-14 loss to Freedom. They then bounced back with a come-from- behind 14-12 win over Nazareth.

They are currently 4-3, which is already tied with the 2021 team for most wins in program history.

One sign of a program on the rise is developing players who are difference makers. Northwestern has done just that, as a pair of players have achieved individual milestones this season.

Ava Collins became the first player in school history to reach the 100-goal mark for her career, and Lexi Vennera picked up her 100th point as a varsity player.

“I’ve seen a lot of difference in our confidence, just starting out with our stick skills and working towards getting better at the little things and taking care of the ball when we have it,” said Collins. “We have progressed a lot farther, and have played more like a team recently and have started to connect a lot since the start of the program.”

Despite losing their freshman season to COVID, this year’s group of seniors have been a large part of the growth of the program. It has not always been easy to endure losses and keep their heads held high, but they have learned that there are better days ahead, and that they are in the initial stages of building something special.

“It feels good now, but it hasn’t always been easy. There has been a lot of learning, and learning how to work with everyone and having new players come in every season who are just learning, but it has been a good experience,” said Vennera. “If we had that freshman season, things might be a little different because the jitters could have been worked out earlier for us. Looking back though, it has been kind of amazing.”

The goal for the program is that a time will come in the near future when Northwestern players will look back at four-win seasons and wonder what that must have been like.

The key for now is keeping the momentum going for this season and beyond.

“We talk a lot about that (keeping the momentum) at practice, and we go over a lot of situations at practice,” said Collins. “We are really working toward getting the younger players involved, and at a higher intensity because they’re just starting out and don’t have a lot of varsity experience. It’s all about keeping the intensity up and staying with the momentum of the game.”

For now, the team is focused on reaching districts for the first time in the program’s history and taking things from there.

“I think that’s a reachable goal for us right now,” said Vennera. “We just have to keep working every game to get better and stay focused and together.”

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MILESTONE

... During Tuesday’s 14-10 girls lacrosse win over Southern Lehigh, Pleasant Valley’s Devon Bush recorded her 100th-career point, scoring five goals and adding an assist. The Bears are currently 7-0, and the only girls team in District 11 that is still unbeaten this season.

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SALUTE

... The Panther Valley baseball and softball teams hosted their military games on Tuesday against Mahanoy Area, which included the ROTC’s presentation of colors and National Anthem followed by a moment of silence and a ceremonial first pitch. Both teams also wore special military uniforms for the game. Panther Valley won both contests, posting a 17-1 win in baseball action, and recording a 16-6 victory in softball.

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GOING DEEP

... Stephen Hood had a memorable performance in the Panthers’ big win over the Golden Bears on Tuesday. Hood went deep twice in the first inning. Both blasts were two-run shots. Panther Valley had four first-inning homers in the 11-run first, with Michael Pascoe and Logan Fisher also leaving the yard for the unbeaten Panthers (7-0). Hood has slugged five homers this season.

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YOU’RE INVITED

... Friday is the 12th Annual Tamaqua Track and Field Invitational. Including Tamaqua, area schools Marian, Panther Valley and Weatherly will be among the 14 attending the event. Both field and running events will begin at 2:30 p.m. The boys javelin, girls shot put and boys discus will be among the first throwing events, along with the boys long jump, girls high jump and girls pole vault. The first on track event will be the girls 100 hurdle trials.

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STRIKING OUT

.. Marian pitcher Morgan Kelly has been on a tear this season. The Fillies’ ace tossed a no-hitter in an 18-0 win over Columbia Montour Vo-Tech with nine strikeouts on April 10, and followed that performance with 18 strikeouts in a four-hitter to lead Marian to a 5-4 win over Shenandoah Valley the next day, while also going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kelly has 430 strikeouts in her career for the unbeaten Fillies (7-0).

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PERFECT

... Carley Gaffney pitched a perfect game to lead Palmerton to a 3-0 Colonial League victory over Saucon Valley on Monday. Of the 21 consecutive outs Gaffney recorded, 17 of them were strikeouts.

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RECORD BREAKERS

... The Jim Thorpe girls ran to a win in the 3200 relay with a school record time of 10:21.92 at the 34th New Balance Pan-Ram Invite at Central Dauphin this past weekend. The team consisted of Celia Rodriguez Gonzalez, Aubrey Bonner, Nicole Carroll and Gabby Cinicola.