The Salisbury field hockey team got a goal from newcomer Lindsay Bauer in the first half that tied the Lady Falcons' season opener 1-1 at intermission.

Despite that goal midway through the first half, the Lady Falcons struggled to maintain an even balance in ball possession against Northwestern.

In the second half, that possession discrepancy turned the game over to the Lady Tigers. Northwestern (1-1) opened the second half with two goals in the opening six minutes, and added another with 3:49 to play to defeat the Lady Falcons (0-3) 4-2 on Wednesday at Salisbury High School.

The Lady Tigers held a 19-5 advantage in shots on goal.

"We have to get into our flow," said head coach Meredith Makoul. "Once we did get it down there, we got it in. We just have to learn to be more aggressive, and work on pushing it in."

Much like how the first half, when Northwestern scored in the opening 3:06, the Lady Tigers got on the scoreboard early in the second as well.

Avery George punched in the go-ahead goal 4:15 into the second half that made it a 2-1 Northwestern lead. Exactly 1:27 later, Haley Dietrich assisted on a goal by Grace Horn in front of Salisbury's cage that made it a 3-1 advantage.

"I think Northwestern came out wanting to win," Makoul said. "They pushed, and then we were like okay maybe we can push back. That's where our goals came from."

Molly Carbone brought the Lady Falcons to within a goal with 21:04 to play after her score made it a 3-2 game. Salisbury was never able to put the game-tying goal into the back of the cage.

Courtney Page put the Lady Tigers ahead 4-2 with 3:49 remaining.

"I moved them around and got them out of their safety zones," Makoul said. "They are really willing to play wherever."

While losses against Southern Lehigh (9-0) and Saucon Valley (7-2) to complete the week puts the Lady Falcons at 0-3 to begin their Colonial League schedule, Makoul saw a number of positives in the season-opener.

"I think they've turned it around from years in the past," Makoul said. "I think even for their first game they looked really good out there. I was happy with what I saw."

Meghan Williams recorded 15 saves in goal for the Lady Falcons.

"She just has to keep her head up," Makoul said of Williams. "Like many goalies, they get their heads down and it stays down."

Northwestern's Laura Kotula stopped three shots.

Results from Tuesday's game at Northern Lehigh are not available at time of press. The Lady Falcons host Catasauqua on Wednesday at 6:45 p.m.