SALISBURY TWP. - It's late September, not late October. While Northwestern girls soccer head coach Kelly Bleam would have liked to walk out of Salisbury High School with a win, she was still pleased with the way her team battled against the Falcons on their home turf.

As two of the top teams in their league, Northwestern and Salisbury battled to a 1-1 tie on Thursday night. A total of 100 minutes of soccer was not enough to separate the two."Sure, you always want to win every game that you play," said Bleam. "But in the regular season, to get a great game against a good team, that really challenges us and gives us a balanced field; it's a learning experience in that respect. It's part of what helps us grow throughout the regular season."Northwestern (10-1-1 overall, 5-1-1 in Colonial League) jumped in front early. The goal came from one of the Lady Tigers' young and talented midfielders as the midway point of the opening half approached.A Lady Tiger ball into the 18 found sophomore Margaret Motolese waiting patiently with a view on goal. Her left-footed strike found the left side of the goal to put Northwestern in front 1-0 with 21:34 to play in the first half.Salisbury (7-1-3, 4-0-1) certainly had its chances in the first half. Caylin Meikrantz fired a shot on goal in the 15th minute, but junior goalie McKenna Amey was there for a diving save to keep the game scoreless early on. With 15 minutes to play in the half, Kelly Gardus had a one-on-one opportunity with Amey, but the Lady Tiger keeper was there once again for a clutch save.Instead of letting that early Northwestern goal hurt their confidence, the Lady Falcons found a response. With their backs against the wall, Meikrantz ripped a shot from nearly 20 yards out and it found its way past Amey into the right side of the cage with 17 minutes remaining in regulation."I give my team credit for the heart and intensity that they showed," Salisbury coach Rick Babyak said. "They probably could have let down when we gave up that first goal, but they didn't. They came back."Both teams had chances in the two 10-minute overtime periods, none better than one from Salisbury early in the first session that could have ended it. Erica Holben lofted a ball toward the Lady Tigers' goal, where Gardus was waiting to position a header away from Amey.Amey, however, rose up to the challenge for the game-saving stop. But on the rebound opportunity, a Lady Falcon foot accidentally caught her forehead that resulted in a deep cut, a lengthy break in action and a trip to the hospital."I'm glad that we didn't let down too terribly much after the goal," Bleam said. "We saw just a simple error on our part, a loss of concentration. Against a good team, you can't do things like that, and they took advantage of that one lapse we had."A FIRST FOR THE LADY FALCONS ... Since Salisbury head coach Rick Babyak took over in 2012, his team had never beaten or tied Northwestern. That changed on Thursday with the draw.WHO'S UP NEXT? ... Northwestern will have the next three days off before taking the field when it hosts Pen Argyl at 4 p.m. on Monday.