BETHLEHEM - Facing the inaugural Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC) champions, Pleasant Valley knew Tuesday's tilt against Emmaus in the district boys' soccer semifinals would be a tough one.

An early Hornet goal certainly did help the Bears' chances at pulling an upset over top-ranked Emmaus either.After Emmaus surged ahead with a goal in the 10th minute of play, the No. 1 seeded Hornets added another tally before halftime to down the No. 5 Bears, 2-0, in Tuesday's District XI Class AAA semifinals at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium's Frank Banko Field.The Hornets face Southern Lehigh on Thursday in the District XI title game. Time and place are TBD."We talked about that kind of goal for the last two or three days," head coach Chris Pachuta said. "We didn't want to give up not only an early goal, but we didn't want to give up that kind of goal to that kid."It was John Fritz who put the Hornets up early. After one of his teammates fed the ball deep into Pleasant Valley territory, Fritz took it off the bounce and positioned it passed Bear goalkeeper Bradley Brickman.The Bears were well aware of Fritz coming into the game and his abilities."That kid is just that good," Pachuta said. "He's fast and he can finish. We gave him one opportunity tonight and he scored. Unfortunately at this level when you get to the semifinals and finals with the top echelon teams, it's those one or two plays that change the way the game is."Fritz's goal begin a first half for the Hornets that saw them attempt nine shots compared to Pleasant Valley's one.Justin Habick had the Bears' first opportunity on goala left-footed strike from the right side of the goal after finding an opening in the Hornets line of defense. That shot, unfortunately, was right at Emmaus' goalkeeper with roughly 5:30 to play in the first half.The Hornets responded on the ensuing possession. After Brickman saved an Emmaus shot, Cory Ross was there for the rebound attempt that made it a 2-0 game with 4:49 to play in the opening 40 minutes.That second tally changed the complexion of the remaining 40 minutes of play."It changes game plans," Pachuta said of the second goal. "It changes not only us, it changes the way they play. They don't have to press as much, and the space is in front of them now instead of behind them. We have to readjust the game plan and find new space that we weren't finding in the beginning."Pleasant Valley's Davis Reiss lined up a deep shot midway through the second half still facing that two-goal deficit, but his attempt sailed a few feet over the crossbar."Their backs are good," Pachuta said. "I think they've only given up seven goals all year. They just don't give up those opportunities. They're clinical. They don't make mistakes necessarily in the back."The Bears return a number of underclassmen to next year's team, including Brickman, who stopped seven shots in goal."He [Brickman] made a couple of big saves, and his distribution was pretty spot on," Pachuta said. "He's got a bright future, and he's definitely getting bigger. If he keeps growing like he has been, he's going to be lights out by 100 percent. I think he's the top returning goalkeeper in the league."Tuesday's loss marked the second consecutive season in which Pleasant Valley's season came to an end in the district semifinals. The Bears are hoping to take that next step forward under Pachuta."We want to be in the semifinals, and we want to be in the finals," Pachuta said. "We want to do whatever it takes to get there. Hopefully now, especially the younger guys get that as the expectation, we fully expect to be there."