In any sport, halftime is an opportunity to regroup and adjust.

For the Northwestern girls soccer team, the biggest points of emphasis coming out of the break Tuesday night at Southern Lehigh was too generate more opportunities on goal, and to switch Megan Landrigan into a more offensive role.

That change certainly shifted the course of Tuesday's game against Southern Lehigh, one of the Colonial League's two remaining unbeaten teams.

And it wasn't even close in those final 40 minutes.

Tied 1-1 at halftime, the Lady Tigers (12-1 overall; 8-1 in Colonial League) exploded for four goals in the final half to top Southern Lehigh (10-3-1; 8-1 in Colonial League), 5-1, on Tuesday night at Southern Lehigh's Spartan Stadium. It was Landrigan's goal just 3:09 into the second half that broke the tie game.

"She [head coach Kelly Bleam] stressed Sabrina [Mertz] and Angela [Motolese] taking shots," Landrigan said. "She pushed me up from defensive-mid to go play offensive. We got a lot of combinations and stuff from that, too."

After generating just four shots on goal in the opening half, the Tigers had 10 in the second half. Landrigan had the first, and it resulted in the game's biggest score.

Motolese set up Landrigan deep in the Spartans' territory, and after a few dribbles, Landrigan's deep shot flew past the outstretched arms of Southern Lehigh goalie Aly Moyer into the back of the net.

That score only started the Tigers' scoring barrage.

"It was a perfect ball by Angela," Landrigan said. "She always plays amazing balls. Her pass was probably the most important. It was a pretty easy angle, and I just needed to place it."

Coming in, the Tigers understood the importance of this game and the bearing it would have on the Colonial League playoff landscape. Not only does the Spartans' loss drop them behind Northwestern, but the Tigers also jump to the No. 2 position with three games to play.

"After we lost to Saucon, we definitely wanted to come back because we were third in the league standings," Landrigan said. "Mrs. Bleam stressed this whole week and last week that this was probably the most important game to win."

A little more than two minutes after Landrigan's go-ahead score, Motolese added a goal. Following a pass from Mertz, Motolese collected the ball in front of the Spartans' goal and placed it into the right corner for a quick 3-1 lead.

Sarah Segan was finally able to break through midway through the final half. Just seconds after the Spartans missed a penalty kick following a Tiger handball inside the 18, Segan raced down the field and ripped a shot into the back of the goal for a 4-1 lead.

Rachel Fisher added the final tally with 2:30 to play.

"We knew Southern Lehigh was going to be a great team," Landrigan said. "They are one of the best in the league. There are a select few teams that we needed to beat this year, and Southern Lehigh was definitely at the top."

The Spartans jumped on the Tigers with a goal from Kaitlyn O'Brien that made it a 1-0 game 9:53 into regulation.

But the Tigers' offense gradually started to generate opportunities in Southern Lehigh's territory as the half progressed, and Mertz' score with 23:42 to play in the half tied it back up.

Laura Hill was a wall in goal for the Tigers, finishing with seven saves. On a number of occasions, Hill's diving saves throughout the game kept the Spartans scoreless for the final 71:07. The Spartans had 13 shots on goal.

Northwestern hosts Palisades on Thursday at 7 p.m.