A little over a week ago, the Pleasant Valley and Parkland boys’ soccer teams played in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference quarterfinals - a game the Trojans won by a single goal.

Only nine days separated the Bears and Trojans, who met up once again Thursday night, this time in the District 11 Class 4A quarterfinals.

Once again, there was little separating the two teams. In fact, through two 40-minute halves and two 15-minute overtime periods, there was nothing separating them as the teams battled to a scoreless tie.

Pleasant Valley’s upset bid was finally ended in a penalty shootout, however, as Parkland survived and came away with a 1-0 victory.

No. 2 seed Parkland advances to Tuesday’s semifinals to face No. 3 seed Nazareth, a 4-1 winner over Whitehall in another quarterfinal game Thursday night.

“I felt like our players did literally everything that we asked them to do tonight, and that’s why it hurts even more to lose this way (in penalty kicks) because they gave us everything they had,” said first-year Bears’ coach Adam Bastidas. “They were so locked in the entire time and for them to leave with a loss ... it’s simply heartbreaking to see it as a coach.

“But you have to give Parkland credit. They were fighting just as hard as we were. There are no easy wins.”

In penalty kicks, where both teams select five shooters, Azhar Sumar and Kyle Rothwell were the Trojans who capitalized on their opportunities, while Bailey Snider was the only Pleasant Valley player to convert.

Bears’ goalie Michael Meyers was a standout in net the entire night, coming up with nine saves through regulation and the two overtime periods.

“Not taking the credit away from Michael (Meyers), because he was outstanding in goal. He has set the standard for himself so high, and continues to meet and exceed those standards,” Bastidas said. “But I think you also have to credit the entire team for how we defended.

“Starting all the way up at the forward spots, and all the way back to Michael in goal. It takes a team effort to hold a team like Parkland scoreless for 110 minutes.”

Bastidas is hoping the two postseason performances against a very talented Parkland team is something the Bears can build on moving forward.

“I hope it lights a fire in the guys returning next year, because we were so close to tasting a playoff win that you just hope the response is a positive one,” said Bastidas. “We showed we can play with an elite program like Parkland; now the question is can we take that next step and win this type of game.”

IT’S BEEN A WHILE … The last time Pleasant Valley beat Parkland was two decades ago - a 3-2 victory back on Oct. 18, 2001.

TOP SEEDS MOVE ON … In addition to Parkland, Freedom (No. 1), Nazareth (No. 3) and Emmaus (No. 4) all picked up Class 4A quarterfinal victories.