It was a bittersweet senior night for the Catasauqua girls’ soccer team.

Last Monday evening, eight seniors were honored in their final home game, and there also was a district playoff berth on the line against Palisades.

The Rough Riders had a valiant effort, but they couldn’t find the net in 4-0 loss. With the defeat, Catty’s record fell to 5-10-1 overall, and they slipped to ninth place and fell three spots out of the six-teams in the District 11 Class 2A bracket.

Before their loss to Palisades, the Roughies posted impressive victories over Dieruff (9-0) and Wilson (7-1). But like most of their season, they were inconsistent, as they dropped six of their previous seven games, having a 2-2 tie against Pen Argyl. They began their season with an overall 3-3 mark over their first six games.

Catty ended its league play against Northwestern Wednesday. Their final game will be against Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg Monday.

Despite her team’s plight, head coach Kayla Cunningham has watched her team grow and mature.

“I am very proud of each and every girl,” said Cunningham. “We played tough throughout the game. The last 20 minutes we struggled, and Palisades capitalized on us.

“I was very proud of the leadership we had on the team, not only by our team captains, but also the seniors as a whole group.”

Senior Sydney Gebhardt believed her team would be in the hunt.

“The season went by in a blink,” she said. “Palisades was a game we needed to win. Northwestern is a rough game, but we have to battle to stay in it.

“This was very upsetting considering this was my last chance to make districts and compete in playoff games.”

Senior goalie Aidan Gerhard also wasn’t satisfied with the outcome, but she appreciated her time with the program.

“It was a really tough loss (against Palisades) especially because we were honoring the seniors and we didn’t leave the field with a win,” said Gerhard. “We lost, 4-0, but I think we played as hard as we could and looked great. We were really strong in the first half against Palisades.

“Not making it to districts is really upsetting, especially because it is my last year of soccer. But I’m still so thrilled that I got to be with such an amazing group of girls.”