"You can't have 'what if's' in sports," said coach Kelly Backenstoe.

The Northampton field hockey coach had plenty of chances to say what if this season, but, she does not believe in that expression.

Her Konkrete Kids had just lost 2-1 to Pleasant Valley in the District 11 Class 3A semifinal last Wednesday at Whitehall when she could have used that what if expression.

After a scoreless first half, Northampton struck first when junior Megan Wiest scored with 6:17 gone in the second half. Wiest scored after dribbling between two Pleasant Valley players and juking out a third.

But, the Mountain Valley Conference Bears retaliated seven minutes later as Alex De Marco scored on a high stick shot on an assist from Abby Roselli. Then, two minutes later the Bears won it on Melissa Russo's rebound shot that caught Northampton goalie Shannon Dalton out of the net.

That gave coach Jess Franz's Bears a shot at Emmaus in the championship game.

However, the Bears lost 5-1 to the Hornets in the title game as Emmaus won its 25th straight District 11 title.

"No, our girls didn't quit. It's a bummer, we had an outstanding season (13-7-1) and won some big games at the end," said Backenstoe. "But we had opportunities (against Pleasant Valley). We just couldn't get plays off fast enough."

The coach added that she thought, "injuries came at inopportune times this year and last year."

The Kids lost top scorer Emily Nonnemacher last season with just three games remaining, and then lost co-captain Kaitlyn Fehnel (burst appendix before this year's quarterfinal game with Easton) and Brianna Dalton (an apparent concussion as she stopped a shot early in the first half against Pleasant Valley).

"You need a little luck, but it wasn't on our side," Backenstoe added. "A lot of girls stepped into big rules. Brianna was outstanding on defense all year as was her sister Shannon (a sophomore goalie). Megan Wiest was also a standout and had some game-changing moments. Fehnel (who accepted an East Stroudsburg University scholarship on Thursday), was a big-time team leader.

"All of our girls made it a team effort. It wasn't that we had one or two girls who were outstanding. They all were.

"We showed we could constantly be among the top four teams in the Valley. It was more about winning, then individual goals."