In the middle of a stretch of tough games, the last thing that Northwestern needed was to play some extra soccer. On Monday and Tuesday, the Tigers went to overtime to pick up a 3-2 win over Notre Dame (Green Pond) and a 4-3 win over Southern Lehigh. It doesn’t help that the team is dealing with a number of players not feeling very well and having to play through the illnesses.

On Tuesday, senior Sara Hathaway scored on four different types of plays to lead the Lady Tigers (7-2-0 Colonial, 12-2-0 overall). Her first goal came on a header past Southern Lehigh goalie Ellie Cassell to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead with 24:15 left to play in the first half.

“She’s been having a tremendous season,” said Northwestern head coach Kelly Bleam. “She’s always been an integral part of the team and this year she is really a shining star. Her effort is always 100 percent and her attitude is always exemplary and that’s the thing that takes her from being really good to being the player that she is. She reads the game very well and she knows where to be.”

With Northwestern trailing 2-1 in the second half, Hathaway went down the left side of the field and used a left-footed shot to slide the ball past Cassell and tie the game.

“Going in that direction and putting it into that side of the net, I’ve had to learn to put it in left-footed,” said Hathaway. “It’s not my natural side, but I’ve learned to make that shot over the years and now it feels natural.”

With 15:36 left in regulation, Cassell came out to play a shot by Hathaway and as she went to the ground, she collided with Cassell resulting in a penalty kick, which Hathaway put to the right side of the goal for a 3-2 Northwestern lead.

The Spartans (6-2-1, 6-4-2) came back to score on a shot by Kristen Cocozza from 20 yards out to tie the game with 2:55 left in regulation.

Just a couple of minutes into overtime, Hathaway made it a four-goal day when she again beat Cassell by moving down the middle of the field and fired to Cassell’s right for the winner.

In addition to the goal by Cocozza, Lizzy Kanzler scored twice for Southern Lehigh.

“We have these last two regular season games left and then I’m hoping that we can get some practices in and work on some things instead of just surviving,” said Bleam.

The season is winding down but this week has been a difficult one with three straight games against Colonial League opponents. A number of players, and even Bleam, have been suffering from pretty bad colds along with the normal bumps and bruises and fatigue from a long season. While some players are worn down by illness, the team overall is weathering everything well.

“We have this three-game stretch but we’ve had some rest too, so that’s been good for us,” said Hathaway. “I think maybe some of us are wearing down, but even the girls who don’t feel good or are tired are playing hard. As a team, we’ve learned to work with it.”

The Colonial League playoff picture is muddled at best, with a number of teams holding similar records. The win over Southern Lehigh was a much-needed win for Northwestern as it looks for some separation with so many teams bunched together at the top of the Colonial League standings. The win over the Spartans has Northwestern third in the Colonial League behind (Saucon Valley 9-0-0, 10-1-0) and Palisades (8-1-1, 11-2-1), with Salisbury (6-2-1, 10-4-1) right behind.

“This was huge because they are a very tough team and they’re a team that we could see in leagues again,” said Hathaway. “We’ve been in and out of the top four [in the Colonial League], so winning this game is very important for us.”