Senior captain Erica Holben exited Saturday’s match against Minersville with leg cramps with 11 minutes to play. But that didn’t seem to affect Holben’s play when she returned to the field.

When Holben reentered the game, she picked up where she left off. Holben scored her fourth goal of the game in the 88th minute to help the Falcons (2-0) cement their 4-2 win over the Miners (0-1) at Salisbury High School.

Salisbury improved to 2-0 after opening the season with an 8-1 win over Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg. Quinn Wittman scored three goals in that win on Friday, while Holben and Rylee Donaldson each added two.

“I think starting out of the back, all the way from our keeper up to our forwards, we are looking pretty good,” Holben said. “Our team is fairly young, though, so we just need to keep working at practice in order to get better throughout the season.”

Holben hobbled to the sideline after missing what would have been her fourth goal of the game with about 11 minutes to play. That would have given Salisbury a two-goal lead.

The senior forward returned shortly later after stretching on the sidelines and made the Miners pay. She ripped a shot by goalie Kaylee Whalen (15 saves) to put the game out of reach with 2:13 left in regulation.

Holben not only ended Salisbury’s scoring on the day, she opened it up as well. After Minersville jumped in front on a goal from Madolyn Purcell late in the first half, the Falcons responded.

Donaldson crossed a ball in front of Minersville’s goal, and Holben’s header tied the game at 1-1 with 4:46 to play in the opening half.

“We’ve been playing together since we were five years old,” Donaldson said. “That’s definitely helped. I could close my eyes and know where she is going without having to hear her. I know she is going to be there on a ball through, and she knows I’m going to be there if she sends the ball to the corner.”

That Donaldson-to-Holben combination was evident in the second half, too. Just five minutes after intermission, Holben scored on another header from a Donaldson cross. This time it was a corner kick that helped put the Falcons in front 2-1.

Purcell scored again nine minutes later, but Holben and the Falcons wouldn’t let that lead last for long.

After Donaldson was taken down in the box, Holben connected on a penalty kick to put Salisbury back in front with 17:12 to play, a lead it would not relinquish.

“I’ve been taking her corners out of the air since we were probably around 10,” Holben said. “It’s a perfectly placed ball every time.”

With a relatively young squad in some positions, the leadership of Holben, Donaldson and fellow captains Alison Mizgerd and Carly Batman will be key this fall for Salisbury and how far it goes into the postseason.

“I think a lot of it is being leaders on and off the field,” Donaldson said. “We’re taking control in practice. We’ve got positive energy everywhere, and we’re transferring that onto the field. We need someone out there that is willing to correct the errors, and have someone who is willing to step up and get the team where they need to be.”

The Falcons opened up the Colonial League portion of their schedule on Tuesday with a matchup against Northwestern. Results were not available at time of press. Salisbury then travels to Pen Argyl on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. match.

“We start with Northwestern on Tuesday night,” Holben said. “It will be a big game. Last year we beat them 2-1 and it was a last-minute goal.”