EMMAUS - Standing at the corner end of the field following 80 minutes of regulation play, the Pleasant Valley girls soccer team looked worn out, but also satisfied.

Yes, the sixth-seeded Bears fell to third-seeded Emmaus, 3-0, on Wednesday night in a District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal round game, but the team knew it gave its all and battled until the end against a quality opponent that just had more depth and experience in the postseason.

“I’m so proud of the girls, and that’s what I told them in our final team huddle after the game,” said third-year head coach Tara Hyland. “Even in defeat, you see a lot of smiles, some tears too, but a lot of smiles. The girls just had fun playing the sport they love. We wanted to win, and that was our goal, but they really gave it their all, and lost to a better team. They just had the numbers.”

Pleasant Valley (9-9-1 overall) was right in the thick of things for the course of the first 50-plus minutes. Emmaus (17-4-1) scored the game’s opening goal in the 27th minute. After Emmaus’ initial shot was saved by Mya Manigo, Kam McWhinney was in the right place at the right time to collect the rebound and follow it up with a shot into goal.

The rest of the half and the first 10 minutes of the second half were played evenly until Ananya Roy found the back of the net in the 51st minute to double the Green Hornets’ lead. An own goal with 14:20 to play was the nail in the coffin for the Bears.

“We just made a couple of mistakes, and they capitalized,” Hyland said. “Without those two or three mistakes, it’s a one-goal game. We had our chances too, so who knows what happens. We just needed to clean some things up.”

Emmaus finished with 10 shots compared to two from Pleasant Valley. They also held an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.

UP NEXT ... Emmaus will now take on second-seeded Easton in the semifinals on Tuesday.

OUT OF POSITION ... Manigo, a junior, is normally a field player, but has also played some goalie this season. She was forced into action to play the full game in net due to an illness to the other keeper. Manigo finished with six saves.

BACK FOR MORE ... Pleasant Valley will graduate three seniors in Madison Fava, Ella Muir and Triniti Dalrymple. “They have meant a lot to our program,” said Hyland. “They all played tonight and were major contributors all season. They will be missed. We’re excited for the large group we have coming back next season.”