It didn't take long for the Northwestern field hockey team to get on the scoreboard in their Colonial League opener against Salisbury. The Lady Tigers found themselves ahead 1-0 after just 3:06 of play.

The second half started much like the first, and a quick strike offensively with two goals in the first six minutes of the second half ultimately lifted the Lady Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Lady Falcons last Wednesday at Salisbury High School.

Since then, the Lady Tigers came up short against Catasauqua (3-1) last Friday and Southern Lehigh (8-0) on Monday to fall to 1-2 in conference play.

"Coming out of the second half, I asked them to pick up the intensity a little bit," head coach Lissa Opolsky said. "And they did. The team that we have, no matter what we do or ask of them, they're 110 percent all the time. It's a tribute to what they want and how competitive they are."

Avery George and Grace Horn scored back-to-back goals 1:27 apart in that early second-half surge to erase a 1-1 tie at halftime. Haley Dietrich fired a pass in front of the Lady Falcons' cage, and Horn was able to get her stick on the ball and redirect the pass for a 3-1 lead.

"I was just waiting for a goal," Horn said. "A few shots before just touched my stick and didn't go in."

"They held back some of their defense which gave us space," Opolsky said. "Since we have a decently fast team, the space is what they like to work with."

The Lady Falcons got to within a goal when Molly Carbone scored with 21:04 to play.

But while the teams remained scoreless for the next 17-plus minutes, Courtney Page gave the Lady Tigers some breathing room in the final minutes. Her score with 3:49 to go made it a two-goal game.

"We were just trying to go hard and prove what we have," Horn said.

Dietrich broke the 0-0 game early in the first half with a strike to the back of the cage.

The Lady Tigers dominated possession for much of the game, and finished with a 19-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Laura Kotula stopped three Lady Falcon shots on goal.

"A lot of the upperclassmen haven't had successful seasons in the past," Opolsky said. "Starting with a win and a non-league tie we had on Friday, they have confidence now.

"They've been progressing every day that we've been practicing and playing. That's really all you can ask as a coach."

Results from Wednesday's game at Palmerton were not available at time of press. The Lady Tigers host Northern Lehigh on Friday at 4 p.m.