Days after suffering its first loss of the season, the Salem girls soccer team showed its mettle by winning a tough match on the road.

The Lady Blue Devils, who fell to perennial force Manchester Central on Sept. 16, 5-0, rebounded by taking down a feisty West squad, 1-0, on Friday, Sept. 19.

“We took it on the chin a little on Tuesday, but it definitely shows what kind of group we have, that they were able to shake that off, go out there and win a tight game,” said coach Kendrick Whittle. “I’m very impressed with our ability to work together. Everyone’s been playing important roles, and we’re (winning) the games we should take care of.”

In addition to the victory at West, the ladies defeated Spaulding, 2-0, knocked off Trinity, 4-1, and thumped host Alvirne, 5-1. They also tied undefeated Merrimack, 1-1, on the road. Their 4-1-1 record currently places them in the top six in Class L.

Against West, Bridget Klecan scored two minutes into the game on an assist from Cassie Chase, and then the locals locked down on defense for the rest of the game.

Goalie Sarah Snyder made a handful of quality saves, said Whittle.

Against Central, the coach said he and his players may have come out a little too fired up. The opportunity was there for Salem to take its place among the top squads in the state.

“There certainly was a heightened level of excitement to play the match, going up against a team the last year or two that has been pretty dominant in Class L,” said Whittle.

Still, the final result was not indicative of the quality of play, especially in the first half, he added.

Though Central took an early one-goal lead, Whittle said his team created opportunities to knot the game but were unable to capitalize. The Little Green scored again, just before the midway point, and cruised from there.

“We certainly did compete with them for some time. Unfortunately, they broke our will in the second half and got the better of us, but it’s game five of the season, so I’m not overly concerned with what happened out there,“ said Whittle. “We’re confident if we get that matchup again we can reorganize and be OK.”