R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Besides being a great Aretha Franklin song, it’s also a word that some opposing programs haven’t use much when they talk about Salisbury field hockey.

At some point, though, teams are going to have to realize that the Lady Falcons motto of “Level Up” is more than just a slogan. It points to the fact that they have been good, but not the best in the Colonial League and districts over the past few seasons.

Perhaps Saturday’s 3-0 win over rival Southern Lehigh will start to make believers out of those who have been slow to accept that there is another team to mention in the Colonial League battle for supremacy.

Coming into the season, Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh were thought to be the top teams in the league and in their classification. Northwestern beat Salisbury last season in the league championship game, but it came after the Falcons downed Southern Lehigh in the semis. The Spartans got revenge for that loss by beating Salisbury in the district finals in 2A.

This season, Salisbury beat the Lady Tigers to open the season and on Saturday, sent a message to the Spartans that things could finish much differently this year than they did ago.

“No matter how many times people try to count us out or say we’re an underdog or say we’re a fluke, the fact is that we’re in it,” said Jane Brennan, who is in her ninth season as the team’s head coach. “No matter what anyone says, it’s just the fact that these girls have put the work in and have they deserve to be mentioned among the top teams.”

It was midway through the first quarter when Kendra Morgan put Salisbury up 1-0.

The senior forward had a good look at the cage and didn’t miss her shot to put the Falcons on top.

The goal came just over 30 second after Southern Lehigh goalie Corinne Houck had to be attended to by trainers after going down face first on the turf in front of the goal.

It turned out that Houck had what appeared to be a knee or ankle injury but elected to stay in the game even though she had a noticeable limp when walking back to the goal.

With Southern Lehigh focusing on Salisbury’s leading scorer Gwyn DeFazio, the Kutztown University-bound senior still found an opportunity to put a shot on goal late in the second quarter.

The opportunity came on a corner play and while it was a good shot, Houck appeared to be in position to make a stop.

Junior midfielder Katie Carbone was in the right place at the right time to direct the ball into the cage.

“My role on the corner is to run in and stand in position waiting for Gwyn (DeFazio) or Kendra (Morgan) to get a shot,” said Carbone. “Gwyn took a great shot, and I was right in my position and tipped the ball into the top part of the goal. Most of my goals this season are like that with Gwyn or Kendra getting the assist.”

The defenses battled back and forth throughout the third quarter with neither team able to break through for a goal. With six shutouts to their credit already, the Falcons were looking for number seven.

“The defense, the midfields, and really the whole team has become like a big family,” said goalie Caroline Gedney, a senior. “We’re all friends and we have gotten to know where everybody is going to be, so I don’t really even have to talk to them much because I know they’re going to be there.

“Our defense has been so good that sometimes I do get a little bored back there, but that’s better than having constant pressure coming from all sides. Getting to have this final, really good season with all of my teammates is the best way to end my high school career.”

With 4:11 left in regulation, DeFazio again became the giver as she fed Ellie Schneider inside and Schneider put it past Houck for a 3-0 advantage.

The goal again came off a corner play and the Falcons simply looked for the open player and DeFazio gave her a good feed to score on.

“It’s so great that we have girls like Gwyn and Kendra, who recognize how the defense is playing us and they can accept the fact that they may not be the best option to take a shot sometimes,” said Brennan, “so they find the girl that has a better shot and feed the ball to her.”

“We all really play well together,” said Carbone. “We don’t worry about who gets the goal or who gets the assist. We just look to beat our opponent any way that we can.

“They were marking Gwyn and Kendra really well today, so they just looked for who was there and shifted their role a little so that we could get goals.”

The win over Saucon Valley topped off a 3-0 week that saw the Falcons (11-0-0 overall, 10-0-0 Colonial) pick up wins over Palisades (6-6-0, 5-6-0) and Saucon Valley (3-9-0, 3-8-0) in addition to beating the Spartans (8-2-1, 8-1-1).

In the four games, Salisbury outscored their opponents 30-1 and now have seven shutouts on the season.