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LOYSBURG -- It's not always about the opportunities that you have but rather about the times that you are able to make good on those chances.
The Northern Bedford girls soccer team had a lot more chances to put the ball into the back of the net against third-seeded Rockwood.
Unfortunately for the Lady Panthers, it was the Lady Rockets who made the most of their shots on goal.
NBC got down at the half, and despite numerous prime goal-scoring chances, it came up empty on every single one as the second-seed bowed out of the District 5 Class 1A playoffs with a 5-0 loss to Rockwood on Monday night at Panther Community Stadium.
"It's crazy, You know I don't think I've ever been involved in a game where we'd lose 5-0 and outshoot them," Northern Bedford coach Marcus Yeatts said. "… Their (Rockwood) goalie played amazing. She came up with a ton of saves, and we just had some critical errors in critical spots. Soccer is a crazy game like that -- where you just have these games where the ball doesn't bounce your way. That's kind of what happened tonight."
The shot differential that Yeatts was referring to was 21-12 in favor of Northern Bedford.
The goalie he referenced is Taylor Demchak -- just a freshman.
The back four of the Lady Rockets certainly didn't make things easy on NBC -- turning the home squad away on several key chances in the opening half before a shot was even able to be taken.
"They pushed the ball out wide," Rockwood coach Susan Branam said. "… Our freshman goalie, I can't say enough good about her from where she was to where she is now. She plays like a senior."
However, some of the shots in the second half that Northern Bedford was able to get off cleanly were shot right at Demchak instead of away from her.
Several crosses that could have given the Lady Panthers chances instead were kicked to a spot that Demchak was easily able to make a play on it.
Rockwood did a good job being physical and keeping a watchful eye on NBC's Abby Kline, though the senior did have plenty of moments to cash in.
Demchak made a diving save to her right on a Kline shot -- deflecting the ball to the outside in the 19th minute of the second half.
"Everybody just stepped up. We only have three seniors and a lot of freshmen," Branam said.
Kline had another shot deflected by Demchak, and on the follow-up attempt by Kline, the striker swung and missed at what could have been a wide-open net.
Such was the way the bounces that Yeatts referenced went for the Lady Panthers.
Allison Harrold's direct kick sailed across the front of the goal area and Mollie Wheatley struck it with her head and into the back of the goal at 27:19 of the first half to give Rockwood the 1-0 lead.
"The first goal was somebody definitely lost their person," Yeatts said.
NBC began to pick up the intensity as it had numerous chances over the next several minutes.
In the 23rd minute, the Black Panthers had a golden opportunities as Ava Whisker played a ball to Kline who was on the left side, took a shot that went wide of the goal but there was no one crashing the back post for NBC to tap in what would have been a wide-open goal.
Four minutes later, Emily Heck's shot from 25 yards out nearly caught Demchak off-guard but she was able to deflect the shot over top of the goal to set up a NBC corner kick.
Off the corner, Kline's attempted pass was kicked out by the defense to set up another chance in the corner.
On the second kick, Kline placed the ball in a great spot out in front of the goal but an aggressive Demchak came out and knocked the ball out of harm's way as the Lady Rockets defenders were able to clear it out completely.
"The game really turned because we didn't take advantage of opportunities throughout," Yeatts said. "We had chances to score that we didn't take advantage of. Then, the game kind of got away."
Later, Rockwood's Finnleigh Gould had her original shot hit off NBC goalkeeper Miranda Clark's hands and to the left of the goal where Gould got to it first and put it in the back of the net before Clark could recover.
Gould, Adeline Barkman and Wheatley added goals to close the books on another outstanding season by Northern Bedford as it finished with an 18-4-0 mark. Meanwhile, Rockwood, which will play Windber, a 5-0 winner over Conemaugh Township, on Wednesday night at a site and time to be determined, advances with a 15-4-0 record.
"These seniors have won a lot of games," Yeatts said. "The past three years, they've been in (at least) the district semifinals every year. … They really turned the tide of the program. I think the year before they came in, they only won like four games. They are going to be tough to replace."
SCORE BY HALVES
Rockwood 2 3 -- 5
Northern Bedford 0 0 -- 0
SCORING SUMMARY
First Half: R--Wheatley (Harrold), 27:19; R--Gould (unassisted), 9:25.
Second Half: R--Barkman (Harrold), 27:48; R--Barkman (unassisted), 26:55; R--Wheatley (unassisted), 12:45..
Shots: Rockwood 12; Northern Bedford 21.
Corner kicks: Rockwood 4; Northern Bedford 4.
Records: Rockwood (15-4-0); Northern Bedford (18-4-0).