Northwestern didn't lose a game in the Colonial League last season on the way to a 12-0-1 finish and a league championship.

After that undefeated mark a year ago, the Lady Tigers' experienced their first loss of 2014 just four games into league play. Their mental focus figured to be tested after falling to Saucon Valley last Friday, 3-2, and a meeting against unbeaten Salisbury in waiting.

The Tigers, however, bounced back in an impressive way after a bit of a lengthy break.

Sabrina Mertz got Northwestern (4-1 in Colonial League) on the scoreboard in the opening six minutes, and five different Tigers scored goals in their 5-1 victory over the Falcons (6-1 in Colonial League) on Wednesday night at Salisbury High School.

"It's definitely a big win and a big confidence booster after that tough loss," Mertz said. "It was a close game. Saucon played us really tough. They always do. It's always a great game against them.

"As did Salisbury today. It was close from the start. We were able to break away at the end. They really fought hard. To come back with a big win, I think that helps us more for the season."

After their win against the Falcons, the Tigers downed Palmerton (4-1) the following day and Moravian Academy (6-2) on Monday.

Other than that quick strike, perhaps the Tigers found themselves in a battle against the Falcons during a first half that was a little too close for comfort.

The Tigers took a 2-1 advantage into halftime, but the Falcons had a prime opportunity on goal late in the second half. Caylin Meikrantz lofted a deep shot over Tiger goalkeeper Laura Hill for the potential game-tying score with under nine minutes to play in the half, but that bounced off the crossbar and out of danger.

Salisbury's Sarah Reilly opened the second half with another solid look on goal, but her shot was right at Hill for one of her four saves.

From then on, the Tigers took control over an eight-minute stretch midway through the half in which they netted three goals. Sarah Segan got that spurt started after making a slight move to the right and firing a shot into the right side of the net for a 3-1 lead.

"When we're on and clicking, I think it's hard to defend because we have so many talented players," Mertz said. "We don't have just a couple of girls. Everyone on our team has good foot skills. Everyone on our team can score. Everyone on our team can defend."

Seven minutes after Segan's tally, Megan Landrigan added a goal after Falcon goalkeeper Jordan Kamp saved an initial shot from Angela Motolese that put the Tigers up by four with 19:22 to play. Just 44 seconds later, Lydia Danner punched in the last of three second-half goals for the Tigers.

It's an offensive unit that has the ability to score quickly and in bunches if needed.

Segan's through ball midway through the opening half found Rachel Fisher, who got a foot on it to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead. Reilly, however, made it a one-goal game a little more than four minutes later.

"It's better to be on top than to be down one," Mertz said. "It gives us more confidence. We definitely had to play the whole game today because they came back with a big one, and it was close for a long time."

Results from Wednesday's game against Northern Lehigh were not available at time of press. The Tigers travel to Southern Lehigh on Tuesday to face the Spartans, one of two unbeaten teams in the league.