EXETER TOWNSHIP - The Northwestern girls soccer team will hold its end-of-the-season banquet on Sunday.

And despite watching their season come to an end in Tuesday's PIAA semifinals against District 1's Villa Joseph Marie, head coach Kelly Bleam and the Lady Tigers will reminisce on the program's best season ever.Villa Joseph Marie's Murphy Agnew scored two goals, including one late in the second half, and Taylor Stevens put the game away late in the second half. It was the first time Northwestern was held scoreless this season, and the 3-0 defeat to the Jems ended their magical run at Exeter High School's Don Thomas Field."That will be a banquet of celebration, certainly not a banquet of sadness," head coach Kelly Bleam said. "We have a lot to celebrate this season, and that's what we need to focus on."Tuesday's loss was the second time in as many seasons that the Tigers squared off against the Jems. Much like last year's 2-0 lossthat one in the quarterfinalsthis year's result was much like déjà vu all over again.However, no other Tiger team under Bleam had advanced passed the PIAA quarterfinals round. Not only did Northwestern down Greencastle-Antrim, 4-1, in that round, they were one win away from a berth in the championship game for the first time in program history."I'm sorry to see them go," Bleam said of her senior class. "Unfortunately, unless you win a state championship, our final moments are a little bit sad. We finished on a loss, but that's the nature of the game."The two sides played to a scoreless game for virtually the entire first half. But a deflating strike from the Jems swung all of the momentum over to Villa Joseph Marie's side.With 3:31 left in the first half, Morgan Gauger's throw-in reached the 18-yard box, and after hanging around momentarily in front of the net, Agnew ripped a strike passed Northwestern goalie Laura Hill for a 1-0 advantage."That's pretty defeating to have that happen at the end of a half," Bleam said. "It was unfortunate, unlucky if you will. They wore us down a bit there, and those moments happen. Villa capitalzed."The Jems held that one-goal lead for the next 19:31 until Agnew made her presence known again. Casey Kilchrist floated a cross in front of the Tigers' goal, and Agnew's header ended up in the left side of the net for a 2-0 lead with 24 minutes remaining.Kilchrist then punched in the final tally with 11:58 left on the clock after a cross from Taylor Stevens set it up."Villa is a great team," Bleam said. "They gained their composure. Once they got themselves going and they got into their attacking positions, the did not fall short of capitalizing on their opportunities."The Tigers certainly had their opportunities early. With a little more than 21 minutes remaining in the opening half, Sarah Segan split two Jem defenders and fed Rachel Fisher with a nice pass in front of the Villa Joseph Marie's goal. Her shot, however, ended up in goalkeeper Gretchen Frantz's hands. Seconds later, Segan ripped a left-footed strike at Frantz as well, only to come up empty handed for the second time in less than a minute.In the second half, the lone Tiger attempt on goal came from Sabrina Mertz on a free kick in the final minutes."We missed a couple of simple ones," Bleam said. "You can't miss simple opportunities in a state semifinal, and unfortunately we did, in part, of course, due to the good goalkeeping of our opponent. We have to capitalize on those moments because they only come few and far between in a game like this."Along with Fisher, Hill, Mertz and Segan, Alexis Gawelko, Angela Motolese and Marissa Pearson round out a group of seniors that ran through 2014 with just two losses. They helped guide the Tigers to both league and district crowns this year."I'm very proud to have been their coach for four years," Bleam said. "They're great kids. Kids and family-wise, this senior class has been tremendous. I couldn't ask for a better group of kids to spend four years with."