When head coach Rick Babyak took over the girls’ soccer program, the current group of seniors was entering its first season on the high school varsity team. That journey officially came to an end last week for Babyak and that group of senior Falcons.

Salisbury, the No. 7 seed in the District 11 Class AA tournament, hung with No. 2 seeded Southern Lehigh for much of Friday’s quarterfinal. But after the Falcons tied the game midway through the opening half, the Spartans rallied with two goals in the second half to advance to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory at Southern Lehigh High School.

“You put your heart into something, for today, building up to this through the season,” Babyak said, “and to suddenly have the realization that it’s over, that’s always hard. For us, it kills me as a coach. For the seniors you know that’s tough.”

Much like their final regular season game, which also came against the Spartans, Southern Lehigh jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the opening minutes. Amanda Mobley’s tally brought forth memories of that 6-2 defeat nearly three weeks ago.

But unlike that loss in mid-October, one that saw Southern Lehigh score five of the final six goals to cement their Colonial League playoff spot, there was no letdown from Salisbury this time.

Just past the midway point of the opening half, the Falcons’ Caylin Meikrantz tallied the game-tying goal after Spartan goalie Ellie Cassel came out for a deep kick save. Cassel didn’t get all of the boot, and Meikrantz kicked in a slow roller from the edge of the 18.

“We had a game plan to try and attack from the flanks, and for a good chunk of the game that was working,” Babyak said. “In the end, they pop a goal or two and that made the difference. We still fought throughout the game.”

That score held until early in the second half. Falcon goalie Jordan Kamp made a clutch leaping save on Erin Donnelly’s free kick in the final seconds of the first half.

But Salisbury knew it would get the Spartans’ best effort to open the second half.

A Spartan midfielder placed a perfect ball up the field through a number of Falcon defenders, and Kaitlyn O’Brien tracked it down and positioned the ball into the left side of the net for a commanding 2-1 lead.

That goal came not even five minutes into the second half. It took almost 20 more minutes, but after a number of solid looks on goal by Kyra Bruns and other Falcons, Southern Lehigh got some breathing room with O’Brien’s second goal with just under 16 minutes to play.

“They probably said in the first five minutes let’s see if we can take it at them,” Babyak said. “It’s a strategy. You just throw everything at them in the first five minutes. I thought we handled it well.

“They did get better against them. We were even with them for a good chunk of that game. I’m very proud of the way they played.”

The Falcons are set to graduate eight seniors, with a large number of them playing a big role on the defensive end of the field. It’s a chapter that has ended for the Falcons, but the future looks bright with a talented class of underclassmen at disposal, too.

“As we’re building this program, I’ve seen these seniors now for four years,” Babyak said. “They’ve been so important in building this program and making this a strong program. They really have put their heart and souls into this for four years and bought into the program...They’ve done a lot to get this program to a good level. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”