NORTHAMPTON — When two different playstyles clash, it becomes a question of which one will dominate.

That was the story between the Pleasant Valley and Northampton boys soccer teams during Tuesday night’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference quarterfinal matchup.

The sixth-seeded Bears fought with short and quick passing and slowly-controlled ball possession up the field.

The third-seeded Konkrete Kids, however, responded with a boa-constricting defense combined with long breakout passes to hit strikers with speed. This response would prove too great for the visitors and their coaching staff to combat, allowing the home team to earn a 3-0 victory.

There was no shortage of physicality from either side as both squads fought hard for every inch of space on the field. Early scoring chances leaned in Northampton’s favor, coming from a combination of stretch plays off the rush and scrambles from throw-ins deep in the PV zone.

Despite the Bears’ relentless defensive effort blocking numerous shots, the Kids were rewarded just over nine minutes into the contest when Luca Mannino — who was just recently named the EPC boys soccer MVP this season — booted home a loose ball off a scramble in tight to break the scoreless tie.

Pleasant Valley showed resilience in its response, getting back to its ball-possession style and generating offensive opportunities while also adjusting defensively to minimize Northampton’s fast breaks up the field.

With a 1-0 lead to begin the second half, the Kids created a midfield trap that made generating offense very frustrating for the Bears.

This strategy played into the hands of the home squad perfectly, and they took advantage of it just over eight-and-a-half-minutes in with Aiden Sugra burying a rebound off of Mannino’s initial shot to make it 2-0 Kids.

It’s not often that a coach is stymied by the opposition, but faced with a larger deficit, PV head coach Isaac Blagogee couldn’t help but admit that breaking through Northampton’s defense would be too tall of a task to counter.

“Northampton’s defense at one point in the middle of the game, you can tell there were 10 people in the back, not parking the bus in a sense, but there were 10 people clogging up the midfield,” he said. “Everywhere you moved, they were still stuck there in the middle.

“They did everything well, and it was hard to try to penetrate through. I tried to change tactics in the middle, but it wasn’t enough. Everything that I was thinking, I just couldn’t break through.”

Desperate for any offense, emotions ramped up and physicality increased with four total yellow cards (three from PV) decorating the half.

Northampton navigated through this storm and potted one more with 8:28 remaining, using its high and elevated pass to a speeding striker. Joseph Snyder feathered a perfect feed ahead to Jacob Fallenstein who tapped the ball home with a header for the 3-0 goal, capping the game.

“We thrive (on) intensity, and we are super competitive in everything we do,” said Northampton head coach Chris Bastidas. “We know we have a lot of talent on this team. We also know that Pleasant Valley has a ton of talent. They’re skilled all over the place, and our team has to be comfortable and sound.

“I was telling them, ‘You’re not going to have the ball the whole game.’ The difference there is going to be who’s going to work harder, who’s willing to fight for everything and as they’re fighting and being intense, can you make the correct plays? For us, we knew exactly when to play tactically defensively, and it looked very good.”

NOT FINISHED YET … Pleasant Valley’s season continues next Wednesday when they likely face Freedom in the District 4A quarterfinals. “I want my team to be prepared for anything and everything,” said Blagogee. “Yes, we beat (Freedom) during the regular season (3-2), but it doesn’t mean that they can’t beat us. You can’t take any team lightly.”

MOVING ON … Northampton advances to the EPC semifinals on Thursday where it will face Emmaus, who defeated Nazareth 1-0 in its quarterfinal game on Tuesday.

Northampton 3, Pleasant Valley 0

Pleasant Valley 0 0 - 0

Northampton 1 2 - 3

Goals: Pleasant Valley - None; Northampton - Luca Mannino 1, Aiden Sugra 1, Jacob Fallenstein 1; Assists: Pleasant Valley - None; Northampton - Luca Mannino 1, Joseph Snyder 1; Shots: Pleasant Valley - 7; Northampton - 16; Saves: Pleasant Valley - Cole Clark 3, Nick Springer 2; Northampton - Ryan Nahf 4; Corners: Pleasant Valley - 1; Northampton - 2.

Records: Pleasant Valley (12-6-1; 11-6-1 EPC); Northampton (15-2-2; 14-2-2 EPC).