It seems unacceptable to a team to command control of the ball, outshoot their opponent, be 'on the attack' more throughout a contest, and yet still come away with a defeat.

However, when Palmerton and Northern Lehigh met in their Colonial League soccer game, it was the Blue Bombers who walked away feeling the frustration as the Bulldogs prevailed 2-0 off a pair of Jacob Traca second half scores.Without taking anything away from the Bulldogs offensive performance, it was their defense that won them the game, as they consistently thwarted Palmerton of goal-scoring opportunities and turned them into their own."We're a defensive team," Northern Lehigh head coach Rick Jones mentioned after the win. "We know we have a good, solid defense and we like to start out of the back and we're definitely not shy with the pressure. We're actually comfortable with it and we go for the counter attacks and make the most of our opportunities when we have them."The winners did exactly that, with just under five minutes gone in the second session. Traca booted a shot that took an odd bounce and got by the Bomber goalie for the 1-0 lead."(The shot) took a low bounce and a low skip at the end and I don't know if the keeper wasn't ready for it or what, but it went in," Jones recalled. "We tell our players to just keep on firing and eventually, good things will happen for us."That mentality is something that Palmerton head coach Ryan Sharkazy wishes his players would take when given the chance."Some of our guys seem to be even shell-shocked when they get the ball on the 18," he admits. "I mean, they're getting their chances, but it's just a matter of firing away."Traca scored an insurance goal with 5:32 left in the game to add the cushion they needed, since the Bombers didn't quit attempting to penetrate the Nolehi defense until the final buzzer."We have had expectations since the beginning of the season that we may not have the most skilled players in the league," Sharkazy stated. "But we will run with you, day in and day out, 80 minutes of every game. Tonight, I saw the solid effort that I want from them for the entire game, but unfortunately, the results weren't there for us."The Bulldog offense is spearheaded by goalie Nate Rex, who has tallied some impressive numbers this season in goal for the winners, as he is constantly facing a barrage of shots on goal against plenty of opponents. Tonight, he had five saves, as he put together a shutout.The ball remained near the middle of the field for some of the contest, as Palmerton outshot the Bulldogs 5-3. However, neither side of the ball's offense seemed to control the possession of the ball, and both coaches admitted their teams' flaws."We decided a lot of times tonight to just chase the ball, instead of staying in their positions, and we're trying to work on that because right now, we're not playing well, fundamentally," Sharkazy said."For us, with our down season, it's great to see the players keep fighting and then keep improving," Jones added. "To see them put out the same effort as they did last week against Northwestern, it's great. Right now, we are 3-11 and we need to get better."