CENTER VALLEY - For the Northern Lehigh girls’ soccer team, it isn’t always about the present.

It’s also about the future.

They apparently have shed their past, as Wednesday afternoon’s 5-0 loss to second-seeded Southern Lehigh in a Colonial League semifinal served as proof of the Bulldog’s rising stature.

Even though it resulted in a defeat and temporarily halted its season until districts, Northern Lehigh can have a positive outlook about its future.

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs (6-7-1) won their first-ever postseason game Monday when it defeated Moravian Academy.

“We’re not quite at Southern Lehigh’s level yet,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Jason Reinhard. “We’re hoping by the next year or two, we get to that consistent level.

“We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. That’s a good soccer team. If you don’t take care of every little thing, they are going to make you pay. They made us pay.”

Southern Lehigh jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half on goals by Isabella Touzeau, Sophia Hoyer, and Madelyn Cort, as it consistently attacked the Northern Lehigh end.

Northern Lehigh appeared tired in the second half, and couldn’t seem to get into any kind of rhythm.

Reinhard noted starters Riley Griffith and Kaylee Wilk missed the game due to injuries after Monday’s game. Jayden Fischer also couldn’t play due to nagging injuries.

“They’re tired,” added Reinhard. “God Bless them, they tried to play through it, but they couldn’t do it. You never like to lose a game. But for district’s sake, this might be the best thing in the world to give us a couple of days rest.

“It was just one of those days.”

Shaina Mazzocca noticed a consistent flow of Southern Lehigh attacker in their zone.

“They had more bodies than we expected,” said Mazzocca. “It wasn’t anything against our defense, but it was mainly at midfield where we couldn’t win the ball to help.

“It was us not focusing, and them being ready to win. I guess we didn’t have that mentality coming into the game. We were really exhausted and tired from Monday. It feels good knowing we are in districts, but losing this hurts.”

Senior goalie Erica Detweiler has seen the program mature over her four years.

“We were pretty beat up from Monday, and missing a few key players does make a difference,” said Detweiler. “Getting beat 10-0 and 11-0 my freshman year, and coming in senior year to this, it does feel great.

“Every year, you could see the improvement, and it has gotten us here. The defense has gotten a lot stronger over the years.”

Reinhard will relish the rest of the moments.

“To be able to absorb this type of loss and still say to the girls, ‘hey, we got some life left,’” said Reinhard. “That’s a tremendous thing.”

WELL RESTED ... Southern Lehigh was able to take advantage of a week’s rest, since it last played on Oct. 14. The Spartans looked like the fresher team throughout the game.

DISTRICT DATE ... The Bulldogs are currently ranked fourth in the District 11 Class 2A bracket of the six qualifying teams. If districts began today, they likely would host fifth-seeded Schuylkill Haven.