SALEM – Timeouts are designed to give teams the chance to catch their breath, regroup and grab some momentum.

When Salem High School called a timeout midway through the second half of its girls lacrosse game against visiting Bow High School, the Blue Devils caught their breath, but it was the Falcons who regrouped, snatched the momentum back and finished with a 16-10 win.

Salem trimmed what was once a five-goal deficit to 11-10, but Bow scored the final five goals of the contest on Saturday, April 26.

“I think they got their momentum (after the time out). I don’t sub(stitute) often, so I wanted to give (our team) a chance to get their legs a little bit,” said Salem’s head coach, Faith Wahlen. “It kind of worked against me.”

Caitlin Pratt tallied three goals, and Alison Meagher notched two as well, helping the Falcons jump to an early 6-1 lead, and Bow looked prepared to cruise to a victory.

A first-half timeout by Wahlen helped her Division-I squad regroup and recoup some of the goals, including four from Kyleigh Keating, who found the back of the net five times by contest’s end.

Meagher added three goals in the second half to help the defending Division-II champions extend their lead during an inconsistent contest.

“There really was no flow. There were some whistles and some odd calls,” said Bow’s head coach, Chris Raabe. “Our defense was lacking communication, and our feet got slow in the middle of the game. We’ve been off for a week and a half, and that kind of hurts.”

Two Falcons received yellow cards during the game, and on two separate occasions the referees stopped play to address fans on both sidelines, saying they would not start play until the fans were silent.

Bow and Salem do not play in the same division, and both coaches said they were impressed by their opponent.

“They were the fastest team we have played,” said Raabe. “We’ll usually outrun teams, but they were very quick. It was a good win for us.”

Wahlen said her team needs to improve upon mentally preparing for games against difficult opponents.

“Bow is one of the top opponents in the state, so playing them gives us a competitive game that opens eyes,” she said. “We need to work on settling down and going in with confidence instead of reacting to the team we’re playing.”

Sara Halbich added a goal and three assists for Salem, while Samantha Gallerani notched back-to-back goals late to help ice the victory for the Falcons, who have now scored 15 or more goals in three games so far this season.