WHITEHALL - Palmerton and Northwestern were tied at 2-2 after regulation in the District 11 1A field hockey championship game on Thursday.

Junior Olivia Costa scored the second Northwestern goal of the game and put in the game-winner just over two minutes into overtime to help the Tigers claim the title with a 3-2 victory over the Bombers.

“The third goal was off of a corner, so it was inserted by Rylee McGinley and was passed to Hannah (Gober) on the top of the circle,” Costa said. “She took it left, did a reverse and I was just lucky enough to get a good touch off of it.”

Northwestern and Palmerton faced each other four times throughout the season and split those contests, with Northwestern bookending the year with wins over the Bombers.

“Honestly, I think we had to change our mentality,” Costa added. “We had to trust one another and come into this game hyped up, ready to play, play our best and just play the game that we’re used to playing. Our passing pattern is super-great, and also just working as team. It was a team effort.”

Palmerton’s Sydney Frantz scored the first goal just under two minutes into the game, and Northwestern answered right back with a Cara Thomas goal just over a minute later on an assist by Carsyn Van Norman. Both teams were tied at 1-1 after the first quarter, and Palmerton took a 2-1 lead when Mikayla Pengelly put one in for a Bombers 2-1 lead at halftime.

“They did a really good job of being resilient tonight and just doing whatever it took,” Northwestern coach Lissa Opolsky said. “Some people who play forward were all the way back in the circle playing defense and just sticking to their job and executing when it came time to execute. We played four different times and used three different game plans, so I wasn’t going to do the same thing day after day and expect a different result. We game-planned a little bit differently, and used some different personnel in places that we thought were just hiccups for us along the way. It worked, so I guess changing the game plan was really important to what we were doing as well.”

Northwestern tied the game at 2-2 when Costa scored her first goal with 4:23 left in the third quarter. Both goalkeepers made incredible saves to keep the game tied.

“Our efforts were all there,” Palmerton coach Megan Leadbetter said. “We did exactly what we needed to do. Northwestern prepared to go against what we had very well. They’re a strong and disciplined team. There’s nothing that I would change or do that our girls went out there and did. I’m proud of everything they did. When you got one slip through like that, especially step-aside, it’s anybody’s game. A tip is so hard for a goalie to stop. I credit everything the girls did. They were here, at the championship game and I’m proud of them. They still got states, so we’re not done. This one stings a little bit, but we’ll move on and make some noise.”

Leadbetter was proud how well her team did during the season.

“These girls, and I emphasized on it a million times to them and keep trying to remind them, they played as a team from the moment they stepped on the field in August,” said Leadbetter. “Some teams have one or two studs on the field, but Palmerton brought 11 girls every single game that were so lethal. Every other team had to figure out who to watch. I challenged them with a new formation and everything this year. They didn’t really like it necessarily, but to see them overcome that and play some of the best field hockey that I ever coached, it’s everything a coach wants.”

RIVALRY

... The Tigers won the first meeting of the season 3-2 on Sept. 6. The Bombers won the second game 2-0 on Sept. 27, and posted a 3-0 win in the Colonial League semis. “We had some injuries at the beginning of the season for some of our bigger key players on the field,” Leadbetter said. “When we played them the first few times, it was quite a nice surprise that we were able to handle it so well without some of our big guns out there. We didn’t change anything this season. We changed enough when I talked about the formation, but they handled it with pride and stride. We didn’t go in there changing, we just actually started to have fun. Postseason was a fun time for us and we were all enjoying it out there.”

COMING UP SHORT

... Leadbetter was still proud of her team in the loss to Northwestern, and the Bombers season isn’t over yet, as both teams qualified for states. “It’s a silver medal, which I’m proud of.“ Leadbetter said. “They deserve it and to be here, but at the same time, it’s what they progressed from August to now. It’s incredible to watch.”