Catasauqua head coach Trajano Bastidas was well aware of the challenges his Rough Rider team faced heading into Monday's game against Salisbury.

Due to a number of key injuries, as well as senior Krys Roberts' absence on the team for her continued training in the National Guard, the Rough Riders suited up just 12 players against the Lady Falcons.

Those losses were not easy to overcome.

After holding their ground for the opening 11 minutes to draw a 0-0 tie, depth became a point of emphasis going forward.

The Lady Falcons scored three goals in the next four minutes of play, all coming from forward Mackenzie Groff to hold an early lead. That grew to a 7-1 lead by halftime, and the Lady Falcons (3-0 in Colonial League) scored five more in the final 40 minutes to down the Rough Riders (0-3 in Colonial League), 12-1, at Thomas Field.

"She is a senior captain that I think all of the girls are looking forward to having back," Bastidas said of Roberts. "She's obviously one of our starters, [and] that affects us.

"When you're down in numbers like that, you're immediately affected. But the attitude is pretty cool. To me, they are encouraging. We talk about working for each other, and that has been very, very positive."

Sophomore forward Jade Biviano's goal got Catasauqua on the scoreboard with 17:11 to play in the opening half after her deep shot floated over Lady Falcon goalkeeper Jordan Kamp.

That score brought the Lady Falcons' lead to 4-1, and gave the Rough Riders a bit of confidence going forward.

However, that momentum was short-lived. The Lady Falcons added four more goals in the final 16:31 of the half, including two scores with under three minutes to play.

"Personally, I don't like to make excuses," Bastidas said. "The girls are playing hard, training and learning."

The second half one in which the Rough Riders played just 10 players at times due to an in-game injury began with an offensive spurt from Groff and the Lady Falcons again.

Groff added her fourth score 17 seconds into the second half before being subbed out. Midfielder Sarah Reilly added a goal a little more than four minutes later that increased their lead to 9-1.

Nine different Lady Falcons scored goals.

Despite the lopsided defeat, Bastidas was pleased with the effort his team showed at points throughout the game, particularly in the opening 10 minutes.

"Today in the first half, I thought we played in some spurts," Bastidas said. "The first 12 minutes before they scored, they really couldn't solve us. They were controlling the game and so forth, but we need to play like that."

Results from Wednesday's game at Palmerton were not available at time of press. Their next league game comes on Friday when Catasauqua hosts Moravian Academy at 4 p.m.

"When we start playing with a little bit more consistency, I think we can put some games together and 80 minutes of soccer. That will be really good for us."