Sometimes, an opposing coach can give a proper assessment of how a team plays. In the case of Northwestern’s 1-0 loss to Parkland, Lady Trojans coach Al Haddad seemed to hit the nail right on the head.

“We didn’t create enough scoring opportunities against Northwestern, and in all honesty, they could have won that game,” said Haddad after the win.

Northwestern coach Kelly Bleam felt much the same way, especially after seeing how her team responded in the second half of the contest, keeping almost constant pressure on Parkland. Bleam didn’t make any tactical changes to her team’s approach at the half, she just delivered a message that she’s given on a few occasions this season.

“I just asked the girls to play, at halftime, as opposed to what they were doing in the first half,” Bleam said.

Early doldrums have become an issue for Northwestern this season, but they’ve still managed a 9-1 record in the Colonial League and an 11-2 record overall this season. Even with the impressive first month of the season, Bleam believes that her team could be stronger.

“Overall, I’m happy, but I feel like our team has the ability to be much better than we’ve performed,” said Bleam. “Out of 80 minutes, we usually perform at our level for 35 to 40 minutes, and it’s usually after halftime, when I have a chance to talk to the girls.

“I realize that we’re young, but they need to play 80 minutes of soccer and not depend on their coach telling them at halftime to play harder.”

On Monday, Northwestern picked up a 4-1 win over Salisbury (6-3, 8-6). Just three regular season games remain and after the loss to Parkland, Bleam believed that her team was still in a rut and needing to right the ship, which has been the case at times throughout the season.

Northwestern plays at Palisades (7-2, 10-3-1) tonight before wrapping up the regular season with home games Tuesday against Notre Dame (5-4, 6-5) and Thursday against Catasauqua (2-6, 4-7). Northwestern downed Palisades 5-2 earlier in the season, leaving the Lady Pirates looking to gain a little revenge. Notre Dame isn’t likely to be an easy win either, since the Crusaders are fighting for a spot in districts and need a win over Northwestern to help their cause.

With just four seniors on their roster, Northwestern is one of the younger teams in the Colonial League and the postseason could be a test for the Tigers. Bleam is hopeful that they can realize quickly that they have to give a full effort for full games, especially if they’re going to have success in the postseason.

“We’re back to where we started from again, and we need to move forward again,” she said. “I feel like I’m in that cycle with this group and perhaps the youth of the team has something to do with that. In terms of what we have to work on, I would say that they need to transfer ownership of their performance to themselves.”