The Northwestern Lehigh boys lacrosse team picked up a pair of wins against teams from Bethlehem recently.

While one of the wins was locked up early, the other saw the Tigers have to claw their way back for a one-goal win.

Back when the lacrosse program started at Northwestern Lehigh, the Tigers’ first win came against Bethlehem Catholic. They pounded the Hawks 18-2 last Thursday with Braydon Uricchio scoring six goals in the win for the Tigers. Northwestern held a big advantage in faceoffs winning 20 of the 24 faceoffs.

Things were much tougher against Freedom. The two teams played to a rare scoreless first quarter before both teams found some offense in the second quarter with the Tigers up 3-2 going into the break.

The one-goal lead didn’t hold up as Freedom blew past Northwestern for a 5-4 lead after three quarters. The Patriots’ one-goal lead also didn’t hold up. Northwestern rallied for an 8-7 win.

Tyler Kaas led the Tigers with a hat trick. Senior goalie Dane Kauker came up big as he stopped 12 shots in the win over Freedom. He was only called on to make four saves to beat Bethlehem Catholic.

Uricchio had a combined seven goals and two assists in the two wins and Kaas had six goals for Northwestern. Kendall Wikert had a nice week with five goals and led the team with three assists. Greyson Christman had four goals.

The schedule has a pair of tough opponents coming up for the Tigers (7-1) and both games are away from Tiger Stadium. The Easton Red Rovers (11-1) have been dominating teams this season and the Tigers play in Easton Thursday. The next day they have another tough road game as they make the trip to Nazareth to face the Blue Eagles who are 10-3 this season.

Earlier this season, Nazareth traveled to New Tripoli and beat Northwestern 12-8, leaving the Tigers looking for some revenge.