Northeast field hockey coach JoAnn Remus hopes that last year's experience in playing for the District 12 Class AAA championship will help her Vikings when they face Catholic League champion Archbishop Prendergast for this year's title at 3 p.m. Saturday at Germantown.

The Catholic League joined the PIAA last season. The league's first representative in the District 12 title game was Cardinal O'Hara. The Lions proceeded to knock off the Vikings, 4-0, and advance to the PIAA playoffs.

This season, the Prendergast Pandas (13-6), fourth-place finishers in the regular season, won the league title in dramatic fashion to earn a spot in the district AAA title game. Northeast, which beat Washington, 2-0, to win the Public League crown, goes into the game with a 10-2-1 record. Both losses were to Washington during the regular season.

Remus said the Vikings strength is in the midfield, where junior Ashley Harkins and Sandy Chaviaras are the top hands. Julianne Pimcho anchors the defense. Forward Steph Hughes leads the offense. The Vikings will be without sophomore wing Isabelle Campanaro who suffered a broken nose against Germantown Academy and had to have surgery.

Junior Brooke Stretch, a 19-goal scorer, has been the Pandas' take-charge player. She scored the only goals in 1-0 double overtime wins against previously unbeaten Archbishop Carroll in the league semifinals and O'Hara in the championship game. Carroll was the top seed, O'Hara No. 2.

"I don't know much about Northeast," Prendergast coach Megan Staniszewski said. "We'll just prepare like we have for our other games. We have three other players who have scored 10 goals or more. Hopefully, our offense will do its job."

There will be no Class AA championship game because Rhodes forfeited to Carroll. Carroll and the winner of the AAA game will move into PIAA tourney play on Tuesday.

Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 267-815-0733 or dbeideman@phillynews.com.