KINTNERSVILLE - Entering their District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal round soccer playoff game against Palisades, Palmerton knew it had to contain Palisades' Cooper Moyer, the Colonial League's top scorer the past few years.

During the first half, the Blue Bombers seemingly encased Moyer with three defenders surrounding him in the offensive zone. Still, Moyer managed to give his team a 1-0 halftime lead.In the second half, however, Palmerton's tight defensive scheme incurred some holes as the seventh- seeded Blue Bombers suffered a 4-0 defeat to the second-seeded Pirates in a game at Walter T. Rohrer Stadium.With the win, Palisades (14-5) will meet third-seeded Pine Grove, a 3-2 overtime winner over Lehighton, in a semifinal game Thursday at a neutral site yet to be determined.Moyer, who began the game with 106 career goals, extended Palisades' lead to 2-0 with 19:55 left in the second half when he blasted a shot to the far side of goalie Ryan Yacone. Thirty-four seconds later, Moyer scored again with a shot high into the net, and Pirates appeared to be on their way to the next round.Palisades, which finished the game with 20 shots on goal, was the aggressor offensively for the last 25 minutes of the game as Palmerton's offensive attack stalled most of the night. The Blue Bombers finished with just seven shots."We started slow, but the second goal got us going," said Moyer. "Once we got the third goal, we were playing our game. We knew it would be tough for them to come back."Palmerton did make some rushes in the opening half and early in the second half, but it couldn't find the net."We did switch our offense to a 4-4-2 in the second half, and had some opportunities," said Palmerton coach Ryan Sharkazy. "But it was too little and too late at that point."We knew if we gave up that second goal we would be in trouble and we fell into that situation tonight."Despite the loss, Sharkazy found some positives in the Bombers' play."I thought our defense was great in the first half, we really limited their opportunities," said Sharkazy. "We were well aware of Cooper out there, and we worked to shut him down."In the second half, they definitely found some weaknesses in our defense and cashed in on them. But I am proud of our play. We had a great effort against a great team."The Blue Bombers ended their year with a 5-12-2 overall mark and will lose seven seniors to graduation. Sharkazy saw this year as a stepping stone for the future."Overall, I see it as a success," he said. "There definitely were more than a few games where we could have added on to our win total this year. We can go from here and really push ourselves to be a better seed next year."This can be a step forward for our program in the future."DISTRICT REUNION ... Palmerton made only its second appearance in District 11 play and returned to the dance for the first time in 15 years.BUSY NIGHT IN THE NETS ... Palmerton goalie Ryan Yacone had a busy second half as he faced 13 shots and made six saves, including several nice diving stops down the stretch.HERE COMES WINTER ... Although the temperature hovered around the 50-degree mark right before game, it dropped significantly down to the low 40s near the end of the contest.