Just as it looked like Salisbury and Northwestern would be playing some extra soccer on Wednesday, the Falcons came up with a late goal to gain a 2-1 win, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.

"I wish I could explain it," said Northwestern head coach Kelly Bleam about what went wrong. "I wish I knew. I know that Salisbury stayed in it until the end and their mentality was awesome and they kept at it, and we didn't do the same."Northwestern got on the board first when Kayla Bardonner was able to sneak a shot past goalkeeper Sarah McGee, putting the Tigers up 1-0. Both teams continued to pound on each other in a physical contest for the rest of the half without either side being able to find the net.As Bleam pointed out, Northwestern controlled the ball for much of the game, but was unable to capitalize when it got good looks at the net. Salisbury (5-1-0, 7-3-0) also seemed to lose ball control at the most inopportune times, just as the Falcons seemed to be putting something together offensively.In the second half, Salisbury came out with crisper passing and was able to get better shots on goal. With 20:42 left in the game, Olivia Hoeing took a corner kick from Rylee Donaldson and blew it past McKenna Amey to tie the game.With overtime looming, Salisbury got an opening down the middle of the field. When Amey came out to challenge the play, Salisbury's Kelly Gardus worked around her to score what would be the winning goal with 1:53 left to play.Northwestern (5-1-1, 9-1-1) scored 17 goals in its first two Colonial League games of the season, but has scored just 10 in the past five league games."Our finishers are, for whatever reason, they're just not getting the ball in the net right now," said Bleam. "We've been out shooting and owning possession in all of our games, and we have a tie in a game that we outshot the opponent by 15 shots."Even before the loss, Bleam was concerned about some things she was seeing on the field that she had hoped would have been corrected by now. The team's 1-1 tie against Saucon Valley, among others that they've played lately, was one of the games that Bleam thought would be an eye-opener for her team. Perhaps the Tigers' first loss will be what sends the message Bleam is hoping her team receives."This wouldn't be the first one that should have been a wake-up call," said Bleam. "We'll see what the result is."ENEMY TERRITORY... Salisbury coach Rich Babyak thinks the Falcons' losing streak playing at Northwestern High School may go back as far as 15 years. He admitted that Northwestern often gets the better of his team, but it has especially struggled when playing in Tiger Territory. Babyak thinks part of it may have to do with his team's familiarity with playing on turf rather than the natural grass at Northwestern."I don't know if that's it or not, but I do know that they're usually a really good team and they're even better on grass," said Babyak. "It's what they're used to, and we're used to playing on the turf now. No matter what it is, it's nice to have gotten a win here."TIME FOR A MEETING... You might not think that the coach of a team with a 9-1-1 record would be upset with her team, but the truth is that veteran coaches can see things that can turn into problems down the road. With the lack of scoring and a lackluster performance against Salisbury, Bleam gave her team an extended talk following the loss.ROAD WARRIORS... Northwestern has seven games left on the schedule, but just one of them is at home. After a trip to Bethlehem to take on Liberty today, the Tigers play at Pen Argyl. The final home game of the season takes place when Palisades (5-0-0, 9-0-0) comes to New Tripoli for a key Colonial League showdown.