Last Thursday afternoon's boys soccer game between Northwestern and Salisbury had the feel of a late-October playoff atmosphere in mid-September.

Hard tackles, teammates yelling directions, and the two teams jawing back and forth highlighted this up-and-down contest. Brandon Ettl curled in a free-kick 10 minutes into the second half, and the Tigers defense held firm in a 1-0 Colonial League Conference victory.

"We came out here to win," Ettl said. "We knew that they were a good team, and that they were undefeated coming in. We wanted to change that. We've been working hard at practice for this game."

The win put helped Northwestern (9-3-1, 6-2) solidify first place in the Colonial League North Division. The Tigers lost to Bangor Monday, but remain ahead of the Slaters (4-3-1) with teh 13-game league season winding down.

The Tigers handed Salisbury (9-1, 6-1) its first loss of the season. The Falcons were leading the South Division before the loss.

The win over the Falcons made a statement for Northwestern.

"We feel that we are one of the best teams in the Colonial League," said Ettl. "I feel like we can beat anyone."

Salisbury was at the top of the Conference, and along with Moravian Academy (6-1), Saucon Valley (5-0-1), and Southern Lehigh (5-1). Northwestern is right there in the race for the top spot in the Colonial League playoffs as the South teams will likely beat each other up over the remainder of the season.

After a scoreless first half, in which the Tigers defense controlled the Falcons attacks, Ettl stepped up to take a direct kick from 20 yards out after a teammate was fouled right outside the penalty box.

With the sun glaring in Jason Carne's eyes, Ettl curled in the kick and snuck it into the top left corner of the net over Carne's stretching arms.

"I was actually looking to cross it to my teammate," noted Ettl. "I tried to put it back post, and it went a little short. Luckily the keeper missed it and it went in."

That goal seemed to come at a desperate time for the Tigers, who put pressure on the Falcons net, but couldn't capitalize. Some close calls on their defensive end called for a goal.

With 15:24 left, it seemed that insurance was on the way. Kyle Willis was taken down in the penalty box. He stepped up confidently to the spot, but drilled it into the right goal post.

Over the next 10 minutes, the Tigers' defense were back on its heels. All-Conference forward Sean Adams, Brian Maehrer, and Kevin Barahona put a barrage of shots on net, but goal keeper Kyle Snyder and his back four prevented any further damage to preserve the win.

"I think communication was the key really," stated Ettl. "Just talking to each other, marking up the men, playing hard, that's pretty much what I came down too. That's why we have that success. Kyle was fantastic today. We just have to keep playing hard and training hard."