EASTON - Tara Hyland would have loved nothing more than to see her Pleasant Valley girls’ soccer team playing in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinals.

A 3-0 loss to an explosive Easton program on Monday prevented that from happening.

But the setback didn’t diminish the progress the Bears have made this season.

“I think they saw that they can compete,” said Hyland. “They saw what they need to work on, they saw what they need to do to play better, and get up to that level.”

The third-seeded Red Rovers (14-3-1) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after a goal by sophomore Jordan Lytwyn with 27:43 remaining until the intermission.

It was the first goal allowed by the No. 6 seed Bears since a 4-0 loss to Nazareth on Oct. 1.

Goalie Sam Merklin faced nearly a dozen shots in the first half. But both the senior, and the PV defense, withstood the pressure and kept the contest within reach.

“She made some fantastic saves out of the back,” Hyland said of Merklin. “The girls never gave up. They kept working hard, and we created chances that I don’t think they realized we were going to be able to do. We broke down their defense, with hustle and heart and passing.

“So I’m disappointed in the result. I’m not disappointed in the effort.”

And the Bears (12-5-2) did it down two starters, including Alexa Weaver, a senior captain and the team’s leading scorer, who just had surgery after breaking her nose in a match Oct. 9 against Bangor and is done for the season.

Easton had a pair of chances early in the second half, including a shot by Lytwyn that hit the top of the crossbar and bounced straight down but stayed out of the net.

Freshman Haley Sasso pushed the lead to 2-0 with 19:10 remaining. Sophomore Kendahl Popp made it 3-0 with 9:02 left in the second half.

Merklin finished with 24 saves.

She also consistently took pass backs, and put the ball up field for quick transitions, becoming almost a sweeper that worked with her two center backs, seniors Autumn Castro and Alexa Pridham, along with Emma Meyers and Brittany Williams.

“PV’s keeper is what she’s written up to be,” Easton coach Tim Hall said of Merklin. “She made a couple of very good saves. But she was so clean with everything. We need to create better chances when we get the ball. We have to do a better job of that at practice.

“We certainly did some good things, but PV worked hard, and they’re a real classy program.”

When the Bears did come up with chances, the Red Rovers’ defense stiffened and goalie Caitlyn Phillips stood tall to keep the ball out of the net.

Pleasant Valley closed the regular season on a 7-0 run, outscoring opponents 26-0 to clinch the Mountain Division of the EPC.

“They’re heartbroken, and I know that,” said Hyland. “But we still have work to do. We have districts coming up, and we have pretty much a week to work on it. And work on those things that we saw here tonight; how to maybe make up for some of those things that we lack in playing smart, which is what we were doing tonight. We played smart, had a plan and we stuck to it. Did it work the whole time? No, but we were (down) 1-0 at halftime and we had some shots.

“We did a lot of the things I asked them to do. I can’t be upset. I’m disappointed, but I’m not disappointed in them.”

TEAM FIRST

... Hyland has moved several players around in her lineup throughout the season, including Castro moving to center back with Pridham after starting the season playing up front. Sophomore Riley Green played defense after playing up top. Sophomore Aryn Stivala (six shots), who has battled injuries herself, provided a spark offensively, creating scoring opportunities for the Bears. “It’s a team effort, and when someone can’t be there, you step up,” said Hyland. “And that’s what the girls have learned this season, truly, that when someone can’t, you step in and it’s a team.”

ALWAYS ATTACKING

... Easton outshot Pleasant Valley 26-10, and held a 5-1 edge in corners.

UP NEXT

... Easton will face the winner of No. 2 Nazareth-No. 7 Freedom Wednesday in the semifinals.

LOOKING AHEAD

... Pleasant Valley has clinched a District 11 playoff berth and is currently sixth in Class 4A. Easton is second.