Nazareth head coach Ziggy Lewis knew his team wasn’t going to get any easy goals against one of the area’s top goal keepers.

The Blue Eagles blasted 19 shots, but only got two through, in their 2-0 District 11 Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal win over Pleasant Valley on Thursday.

No. 3 seed Nazareth will advance to play Easton in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Bears senior goal keeper Sam Merklin made some difficult saves, and had almost no chance on both shots that got past her.

“We knew she’s a real class goal keeper,” said Lewis. “She’s phenomenal. She kept them in the game. That first 10 minutes was her versus us.”

Nazareth had six corner kicks and took 10 shots in the first 25 minutes of the game, but couldn’t get anything past Merklin, who kept the game scoreless.

Sierra Jordan finally got free a few yards in front of the goal and blasted a shot that caromed off the left post and into the net for a 1-0 lead with 13:13 left in the first half.

The No. 6-seeded Bears (15-6-2) stood strong for the next 30 minutes of play, keeping the Blue Eagles (15-4-1) off the board despite their relentless attack.

“I’m disappointed in the result, but I’m not upset about their effort,” said Pleasant Valley head coach Tara Hyland. “They gave everything they had. Nazareth is fast and they come at you with speed. They came at us and came at us. Eventually it’s going to go in. Sam kept us in the game. The saves she made were unbelievable.”

Merklin made 25 saves in the game. Senior center backs Autumn Castro and Alexa Pridham led the defense in front of Merklin, while teammates Britt Williams, Emma Meyers and Riley Green also played well in the backfield.

The Eagles got their insurance goal with 17:43 left when Sarah Topping fired a shot low in the left corner of the goal for a 2-0 lead.

“I could relax a little bit more after it was 2-0,” said Lewis. “1-0 is nothing. They score one and it’s a whole different ballgame.”

The loss marks the end of the season, along with the careers of nine Bears seniors who were longtime teammates and friends of Schyler Herman.

Herman was the Bears starting goal keeper before beginning a battle with leukemia that would take her life in 2018. She would have been a senior last season.

“They’re a very close group,” said Hyland. “They’ve been through a lot. Sam (Merklin) was the backup goal keeper. When she came up freshman year, she made [Schyler] a deal. She said I’ll play goal keeper until you come back.”

The PV loss ended a 15-win season that included nine shutout victories and one 0-0 tie.

NUMBERS ... The Eagles outshot Pleasant Valley 27-9, and had a 9-2 advantage in corners.

A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS ... Chloe Guerra and Kylie James assisted on Nazareth’s goals.