ALLENTOWN - Normally, no one takes solace in defeat, especially in a postseason game.

But Pleasant Valley boys soccer head coach Adam Bastidas had a lot of praise for his team - even after falling in the playoffs.

Parkland’s Jack Smith ran about 40 yards down the side of the field, and slotted a right-footed shot past the outstretched arms of Bears goalie Michael Meyers for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Trojans victory Monday evening in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs.

It was a much different state of mind for Bastidas and his program after compared to the first time these two teams met during the regular season, a 3-0 Parkland win on Sept. 27.

“The first time we played them, the game wasn’t really close,” Bastidas said. “Tonight, we came out with a different game plan, and I was proud of how we executed that game plan. They’re a good team, and credit to them for doing what they needed to to win. I’m proud of our effort.”

Bastidas said he knew the Trojans would out-possess and outshoot his team - creating more offensive chances - but his game plan was to work off the counter attack and create their own chances from the defensive end. It seemed to work more times than not.

“We wanted to execute the counter attack, and I thought we did that pretty well,” said Bastidas. “We were dangerous on the counter attack, and had a couple of opportunities tonight to get a goal. We just didn’t have that one chance where I thought could’ve been the one.

“No one is happy with the result, but I’m happy with how we played. I like our effort, and if we play like this every game, I like our chances.”

Pleasant Valley had a free kick opportunity with just under two minutes left in the first half from right around the 18-yard box. A curling effort from Damen Janotti was saved by Parkland’s Matthew Link, and the score was deadlocked at halftime.

Smith then found the game’s first and only goal with 34:01 remaining. Meyers finished with 10 saves, and kept his team in the game for the entire 90 minutes.

“The defensive effort was outstanding,” Bastidas said. “This was probably the first game where I thought everybody was on the same page. Everyone knew what their assignment was, and they went out and accomplished it.”

BY THE NUMBERS ... Host Parkland outshot Pleasant Valley 15-2, and held a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.

WHERE THEY STAND ... Pleasant Valley is now 10-6-2 overall, while Parkland is 15-1-1.

UP NEXT ... Pleasant Valley earned a spot in the District 11 tournament, which begins on Tuesday, Oct. 26.