Everything Northwestern Lehigh did well in the first half, it struggled to replicate in the second.

Nazareth took advantage, scoring six of the final seven goals to leave Tiger Stadium with an 11-6 victory Friday night.

Northwestern won the majority of faceoffs early, giving it a possession advantage that helped the Tigers build a 3-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. In the second half, however, Nazareth became the aggressor on faceoffs and took a 5-4 lead with 10:07 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers’ defense put on a clinic early, but as the game wore on, the Blue Eagles were able to wear it down and generate open looks at the goal.

“We started to lose the faceoff battle in the second half, and that was something we were able to control in the first half. That led to extra possessions for their team, and they’re a talented group, especially on offense,” said Northwestern coach Marcus Janda. “Defensively, I don’t have guys on the bench, so I had six guys out there playing a heck of a lot of defense, and eventually, fatigue settled in, and we had some breakdowns.”

Northwestern picked up an early goal when freshman Kendall Wikert fired a laser from 15 yards out for a 1-0 lead. At the other end, goalie Dane Kauker stopped Ryan Kane on a point-blank shot, simply scooping up the save.

Nazareth tied the game with 4:34 left in the first on Owen Hanzl’s 32nd goal of the season.

From there, a pair of defensive plays led to Northwestern goals.

First, Michael Lagowy worked around a Nazareth defender to field a ball at midfield, then spun around for a breakaway and put a shot past goalie Nathaniel Orlando to make it 2-1.

Moments later, Tyler Kaas intercepted a pass and, rather than wait for reinforcements, raced to the goal to beat Orlando and give Northwestern a 3-1 edge. It was Kaas’ 28th goal of the season.

The second quarter had a different feel, as Nazareth began to work its offense more patiently and find opportunities. Three different players scored for the Blue Eagles, while their defense shut down the Tigers’ attack. Nazareth took its first lead of the game, 4-3, with just 39 seconds remaining before halftime.

The faceoff disparity became even more apparent in the third quarter. Nazareth stretched its advantage to 5-3 before Northwestern fought back to tie the game on goals by Josh Wambold and Wikert — the latter’s 20th goal of the season — with 8:06 left in the third.

Nazareth controlled the fourth quarter, with Kane netting his third goal of the night. The Blue Eagles outscored Northwestern 4-1 in the final period, with Kaas’ low shot from 20 yards out providing the Tigers’ lone goal.

“It’s a step back,” said Janda, whose team lost to Nazareth 7-6 on the road earlier this season. “We scored six last time and couldn’t improve on that this time around — and we gave up 11. We didn’t show any offensive improvement, and we gave up too many possessions that they turned into goals.”

TOUGH STRETCH ... The Tigers faced back-to-back games against two of the EPC’s toughest teams, falling 14-5 to unbeaten Easton (15-0) on Thursday before Friday’s loss to Nazareth (10-5). Moravian Academy (7-4) will complete the difficult three-game stretch when it visits Tiger Stadium next Thursday.

Nazareth 1 3 3 4 - 11

Northwestern 3 0 2 1 - 6

Goals: NAZ – Hanzl (2), Mulada (2), Kane (3), Tomko (2), B. Smith (2); NWL – Wikert (2), Lagowy (1), Kaas (2), Wambold (1)

Records: Nazareth (11-5 overall, 7-2 EPC), Northwestern Lehigh (7-6 overall)