There was a point in the season where it looked as if the Salisbury boys soccer team was on track to earn a Colonial League playoff spot. The Falcons were 5-2-1 in league play heading into a pivotal meeting against Moravian Academy nearly two weeks ago.

And while there was still a slight chance of earning that berth prior to last week's season finale against Southern Lehigh, the Falcons needed a win and some help throughout the league. But a .500 record over their final four games, including last Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Spartans at Salisbury High School, ended those hopes.

"We had a horrendous meltdown at Saucon," head coach Mark Allinson said. "We went into Moravian, and we didn't play a full 80 [minutes]. In both of those games we didn't play a full 80. We played strong against Northwestern the second time.

"The kids have the ability to do it. They just have to put it together for 80 minutes. Everybody has to be on the same page."

The Falcons were a combined 0-3-1 against the four playoff teams (Saucon Valley, Palisades, Southern Lehigh and Moravian Academy).

The Spartans were fighting for one of those spots on the last day of the regular season, and their determination was evident from the opening whistle.

It took the Spartans just 35 seconds to get on the scoreboard. Off a corner kick, Mitchell McColl gathered the ball in front of the Falcons' goal and fired past goalkeeper Tyler Keller. A little more than five minutes later, Alex Sabram's tally made it 2-0 Spartans before the Falcons knew what hit them.

"The kids need to learn that they need to play a full 80 minutes when they're playing against quality opponents," Allinson said. "For that first 10-15 minutes, we just mailed it in and paid for it dearly. The guys that I put in after that came in with some energy."

Danny Walters set up Ethan Heydt in front of the Spartans' goal, and his tally made it a one-goal game minutes later. Southern Lehigh, however, went back in front by two on Logan Koch's goal right before halftime.

Neither team had the amount of scoring opportunities in the second half like they did in the first 40 minutes, but Connor Wagner was able to put one in the back of net to cut the Spartans' deficit to one early in the final half. That would be the only tally of the second half.

"They bent a little bit, but they didn't break toward the end there," Allinson said. "The second half was a little bit better in the sense that we were able to mount some pressure, and keep some of their forwards off of our defensive backs."

Results from the Colonial League semifinals on Tuesday were not available at time of press. The two winners face each other on Thursday in the finals.

While the Falcons came up short of a league playoff spot, they will participate in the upcoming district tournament when that gets underway. It's a similar story to last season's postseason play, one in which the Falcons earned a spot in states after coming up short in district finals and missing out on leagues.

"We're going to have to get through Saucon, Northwestern and Palisades," Allinson said. "It's going to be the usual suspects."