One could argue Salisbury played better for much of the first half in last week’s Colonial League girls soccer rivalry game against Northwestern. The Falcons, however, didn’t start or end that half on the best of notes.

Ultimately, it was Salisbury’s inability to play a complete 80 minutes that led to its first loss this fall.

Northwestern scored two goals exactly a minute apart in the final moments of the first half, then tacked on one more in the second half to down the Falcons 4-2 last Tuesday night at Salisbury High School.

“Psychologically, when they scored those goals it was very tough,” Babyak said. “They scored that goal really early, and that was psychologically really hard, too, just to get yourself in that hole. And then they scored two right there like that when we let them go down the middle. I give them credit. They are really strong down the middle.”

Salisbury was able to overcome a goal from Northwestern’s Sara Hathaway in the opening two minutes of the game.

The Falcons’ Rylee Donaldson got behind the Tigers’ defense at the midpoint of the half to punch in her first of two goals and tie the game at 1-1.

The Falcons then seemed to steal all the momentum with Donaldson’s second goal in the final minutes of the half. Quinn Wittman’s throw-in from the sideline took a couple of bounces, then found Donaldson, who ripped a shot by goalie Lauren Terrell.

“We could potentially play them again if we find ourselves in the Colonial League playoffs, and we can play them again if we get in districts,” Babyak said. “We had a very good chunk of game in the first half, and we let it go a little bit. We’ve got work to do, but the work is there.”

Northwestern, which played in last year’s state semifinals and has much of its team returning this year, had an answer despite just 3:28 remaining in the first half when Donaldson scored her second goal to put the host Falcons in front.

Jillian Frank tied the game just seconds later when she fired a shot by Falcon goal Lily Schimenick. Then exactly a minute after that, Hathaway scored her second goal of the match to put Northwestern back in the lead in the 38th minute.

“[Hathaway] had a couple of great goals,” Babyak said. “Maggie Motolose is a strong player, and Hathaway is a great player. Credit to those players, but we’ve got to be smarter. There are other spots on the field where we can pick and choose. We did that for a good chunk of the first half.”

Much like the first half, it didn’t take long for Hathaway and the Tigers to strike out of intermission. This one, however, was her most impressive goal of the night.

From about 35 yards out, Hathaway blasted a ball over the outstretched arms of Schimenick to give Northwestern a comfortable two-goal lead with 36:24 to play.

Salisbury, which had four solid shots on goal in the first half, didn’t find the same opportunities in the final 40 minutes. Their best chance on goal came from sophomore midfielder Kerry Seiler in the final two minutes.

“They have a pretty strong bench,” Babyak said. “I think that was part of it. They used their bench a little bit more than us. We’re still working on that. It’s a good learning lesson. If we do the right things, we’ll see them again.”

The Falcons responded with wins over Blue Mountain (2-1) and Pen Argyl (4-3) later in the week.

Salisbury returns to the field on Wednesday against Palisades. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Salisbury High School.