Northwestern used a scoring barrage in the second half to put away Moravian Academy 6-1 in the quarterfinal round of the Colonial League playoffs Tuesday night.

The Tigers got their six goals from five different players, with sophomore Brooke Page scoring twice in the game.

Northwestern (15-4 overall, 8-3 CL) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period when Brynn Balliet banged a shot off the back of the cage just past the midway point of the period. The two teams played a very evenly-matched game in the second period, and it appeared that the score would remain 1-0 at the break. Instead, Lauren Schellhamer slid a shot just inside the corner of the goal with seven seconds left to put Northwestern up 2-0.

Moravian Academy (6-4, 6-4) got a quick goal just over one minute into the third period when Megan Dadio sneaked a shot into the cage to make it 2-1. The goal only served to poke the Tigers, who came firing back at the Lions and took over the contest.

“I think we were ready to go from the start, but anytime somebody scores on you, you’re going to come back with a vengeance,” said Northwestern head coach Lissa Opolsky. “I think we were able to settle down and settle in. We have a big target on our back this time around, and I don’t think they were used to that whole idea, so just feeling comfortable in what we’re doing and knowing that we can play like that is a large part of what we’re doing.”

Just two minutes after Dadio scored, Page picked up her first goal when a ball deflected to her at the front corner of the goal. Page tipped the ball into the back of the goal to put Northwestern up 3-1. Tess Ledeboer and Claire Costa both scored goals in the third period to push Northwestern’s lead to 5-1 as the teams prepared for the final period.

With just over five minutes left, Northwestern got a final goal as Page netted her second of the game.

As happy as Opolsky was with having five different players score, she gave a lot of credit to her defensive players for starting many of the scoring opportunities.

“It really starts with our backfield. They’re very offensive minded, and we’re able to gain a lot of offensive opportunities from them, and then have it coming through the midfield with Reagan [Hernandez] and Ali [Lister], and they control it there and that leads us to those offensive opportunities,” said Opolsky. “Those five different people get props for finishing it off, but there’s a lot leading up to that.”

To drive home Opolsky’s point, the Tigers also had assists from five different players - Ledeboer, Balliet, Schellhamer, Charlotte Horn and Brinley Rex - in the game.

LAST TIME

... The game was markedly different from the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the season when Northwestern downed Moravian Academy 3-2, also on its home turf.

NEXT UP

… The Tigers, who are seeded third in the Colonial League playoffs, head to Bangor on Thursday to play the Slaters. Bangor is the No. 2 seed, which gives them home field advantage for the semifinals. Northwestern traveled to Bangor earlier in the season and fell to the Slaters 2-1.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

… The Tigers and Moravian Academy could conceivably meet again in districts. As of now, Northwestern is the top seed in class A, and Moravian Academy is seeded third.