COMMERCE Twp. >> The Walled Lake Northern Knights exploded for four unanswered goals in a 5-1 win over Walled Lake Western Warriors in the latest installment of the rivalry Thursday night.

“We always are looking forward to this type of game whenever it’s a rivalry. We give Western a lot of respect, make sure we’re prepared. We definitely came out ready for this game,” Knights head coach Mitch Thompson said.

After a feeling out period of 15 minutes or so, the offense really got rolling. Northern opened things up with 20:44 to play in the first half when Grace Vogt crossed a ball that Meghan Woldring got to on the back post, one-timing the ball in for a 1-0 Knights’ lead.

It took the Warriors only 37 seconds to get even. Maia Kepa ripped a shot from 15 yards out that Northern goalkeeper Macie Hunter came off her line to stop. Hunter made a fine sliding save, but the rebound went right back to Kepa, who buried it into the open net and tied the score.

But after that, the Knights took control.

Brooklyn Zeleny and Izzy Krause both scored in rapid succession to stake Walled Lake Northern to a 3-1 lead headed into halftime. The Knights then added two more goals in the first eight minutes after halftime with Addison Emert finding the net and then Zeleny getting her second goal to stretch the lead out and douse any thoughts of a Warrior comeback.

“I think Western is really good at being physical. They’ve got some talented players, and it took about 15 minutes for us to adjust. But afterwards, I thought the girls did phenomenal, and they took the rest of the game forward,” Thompson said.

The Warriors would keep fighting, however, and came close to pulling a goal back on a couple of occasions, finishing with seven shots on goal. Western was particularly effective when switching the point of attack and got strong play from freshmen Mikaela Pelc and Abi Westbrook.

Regardless, the Walled Lake Northern defense made the necessary plays and adjustments, and the Knights were able to maintain their lead.

Overall, the Knights played a very solid game at both ends, connecting with each other in all areas of the field.

“We worked especially on that, just making sure we were connected, we had our shape, making sure our diamonds and triangles were in order. And then of course, in the transition when we did lose the ball or they did try to kick it out, we were just prepared to be in the right areas to keep that pressure on,” Thompson said.

For Western, the Warriors showed flashes of what they could be as they try to re-integrate everyone into the team, but on this night things were not quite clicking consistently.

“We’ve got a couple of girls coming back right now from injury, from illness, from this, from that,” Warriors head coach Brian Bain said. “So I think we’re a little bit off, but at the same time there were some very good positives to take away from this game, and when we put it all together, I think we’ll be a dangerous team against some teams. Overall, I’m never satisfied, right? But I am pleased with some off the aspects of the game.”

With the win, Walled Lake Northern (5-2-1 overall) maintains sole possession of first place with a 4-0 record in the Lakes Valley Conference.

The Knights will put that perfect league mark on the line next Tuesday when they host their other crosstown rival, Walled Lake Central. The teams already played earlier this year in a non-league contest that ended in a 2-2 draw.

The Warriors (2-3-1 overall, 1-3-1 LVC) travel to Waterford Kettering for their next league contest as they try to snap a three-game losing streak after some success to begin the spring.

“We had a couple good results early in the season, and we’re really kind of fighting it. We’re looking for the consistency at this point. And the girls want it. They practice hard every single day,” Bain said. “We’re getting there. We’ll come back tomorrow. We’ll work hard again tomorrow, and we’ll try to get better again tomorrow.”