The Salisbury soccer summer team, CSG Falcons, literally fought an uphill battle against Pennridge in its playoff loss last Wednesday.

The Falcons fell to the Rams 3-2 on Lehigh University's Goodman Campus, and were given the disadvantage of playing on the end of the field that required running uphill slightly in the second half.

Pennridge controlled possession for most of the first half, but the Falcons played well and were able to negate the ball control with solid defense in the box and good goalkeeping by Jack Bonge.

The Falcons were playing with just one sub on the hottest day of the year. Pennridge had a full bench.

Falcons head coach Mark Allinson was pleased with his club's effort as the fall season is quickly approaching.

"We're playing with just one sub in real humid temperature," said Allinson. "We had to go uphill in the second half. I'm happy with the effort they put in. I'm happy with the effort they put in all season long."

The CSG Falcons finished the regular season with an 8-1-1 record, good for second place in the A Division of the Lehigh Valley Summer Soccer League.

Though Pennridge controlled the ball much of the first half, Falcon forward Joe Reilly netted two goals to give Salisbury a 2-0 advantage going into halftime.

The second half began much the same way as the first half, with Penndridge controlling the ball and the Falcons' defense holding strong.

Eventually, the heat and lack of bodies began to take its toll, as Pennridge knotted the game at two with plenty of time left for either team to score the game-winner.

"I think our guys worked hard, and we were able to get two goals, almost three," Allinson said. "The heat definitely played a factor. It's not an optimal field, but it's good to get out here and play the game of soccer in a recreational way."

Eventually, the Rams overcame the solid defense of Salisbury and scored the go-ahead goal with just minutes remaining. Falcons players bent at the waist in exhaustion as the final minutes ticked away, and from the sidelines it was easy to tell how spent the teams were.

Coach Allinson takes a big-picture approach when judging the effects of the summer league on the upcoming season.

"I like to look at it more season-wide as opposed to one game," said Allinson. "That was a good team we played, and we're going to play good teams in the Colonial League too, but this gives us an inkling into what we can do, we can see what people are going to do and how they're going to deal with pressure.

"We'll have to see how their decision making goes and work on positioning, but I think fundamentally we're going to be fine."

The Salisbury varsity soccer team has big expectations each and every season, and the 8-1-1 record in a quality summer league could be an indication this year's Falcon varsity team will have another strong season.