The Salisbury-Northwestern soccer rivalry has gained plenty of steam over the last couple of seasons. Another chapter in that book was written last Tuesday night, as both teams entered the match up as two of the final three unbeaten squads in the Colonial League.

That chapter turned out to be a one-sided tale.

It only took two minutes for Northwestern’s offense to start rolling, and once that train started turning its wheels, it didn’t slow down one bit.

JD Haaf’s strike got Northwestern’s scoring barrage started early as one of three first-half goals, and the Tigers (10-0 overall, 6-0 in Colonial League) added one more in their 4-0 shutout over the Falcons (9-2, 5-1) on Tuesday night at Salisbury High School.

“I don’t think we were able to match their speed and intensity,” head coach Mark Allinson said. “In terms of our technical touches on the ball, we just weren’t on.

“We came out flat. You can’t do that against a team like this, otherwise they are just going to hammer you.”

After Haaf wrestled the ball away from a Falcon defender for his goal in the second minute, Andrew Goodolf then ripped a shot into the right side of Salisbury’s goal from 15 yards out with 17 minutes to play in the half.

The momentum carried into the final moments of the half. Following an initial Tiger shot where the ball bounced back to the edge of the 18, Bradley Shafer lined up a deep strike that found the back of the net for a commanding 3-0 lead.

On the other end of the field, Salisbury struggled to generate opportunities in the first 40 minutes.

The Falcons’ cleanest look at goal was from Ethan Heydt on a free kick from 27 yards out. Northwestern goalie Kyle Bellhorn dove to the left for the save on what would have been the equalizing goal.

“We wanted to try and possess the ball, but the amount of pressure they were putting on our kids created a lot of unforced errors on our part,” Allinson said. “They were able to capitalize on some of those things with some quick counters. Some of their boys are a handful.”

Zach Adams and Heydt both had solid back-to-back looks on goal in the first five minutes of the second half. Adams’ shot was just off target to the right of the goal, and Heydt’s attempt was saved by Bellhorn again.

Keegan Coffield put the final touch on Northwestern’s scoring with 10:50 remaining.

Northwestern continued to roll along with its fifth shutout in six conference wins. Only Moravian Academy (7-0 as of Sunday) is ahead of the Tigers in the league standings.

While the Tigers didn’t see Salisbury’s best effort last week, Allinson knows his squad’s better playing days are ahead of the with a rematch this week.

“If you look at some of the positive things, we know where we need to go now,” Allinson said. “We’ve been able to see what our opponent looks like out there. I don’t think our opponent has really seen what we’re capable of yet.”

“Next week we’ll see if we can move it a little bit closer to even. Should we meet in the postseason, hopefully it will be a different outcome.”

Thursday’s rematch is set for 4 p.m. at Northwestern High School.