RECAP >> Oh so close, yet ….
Surely that’s the mindset head coach Desi Gonzalez and his players, along with fans from Emmaus, took away from last night’s game against Parkland.
Knowing that they had a chance.
A chance to knock off the area’s only undefeated team.
A chance to come up with their biggest win to date.
And, a chance to end four years of misery against their arch-rival, which has included eight straight losses and 11 of 12 since 2015.
The Hornets were right there.
Trailing by a pair of goals with just under eight minutes to play, Emmaus put together a late-game rally and had a chance to send the game into overtime, but were not able to complete the comeback as they came up one-goal short, falling to the Trojans 9-8 in an entertaining game played last night before a packed house at Parkland High School.
“We definitely had a chance,” said Gonzalez, the Hornets second year coach. “It was a tough one. Again, it’s very hard to be displeased with the effort from our boys tonight. We were one play away from winning that game.”
Down 9-8 with just :17 seconds left on the clock, Emmaus had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime after taking a timeout, but unfortunately the Hornets couldn’t get off a shot as time expired.
“Out of the timeout, I told the boys to stick to what’s working,” said Gonzalez. “We had a sweep from (Zach) Whalen. He carried it over the top of the box, thought he saw an open alley but couldn’t get the shot off. Another two or three seconds there I feel like we would have had another goal.”
“We have to learn how to finish a game,” he added. “We match up well against Parkland and I’m excited about our chances. We just gotta make sure that we are executing on a couple more plays. A couple of bad turnovers, especially that last one at the end, was ours to take. We just need to clean those up. “
“I have THE most excited attitude I have had for this Emmaus team since I’ve been here.”
Whalen, a sophomore, had on outstanding game as he, along with junior Michael Leschinsky, each had hat trick for the Hornets who dropped their second straight game in falling to 7-2 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and 10-2 overall.
Senior Jon Csensits also had a goal, his fifth of the season, along with sophomore defender Matt Dapper who scored his second goal.
Between the pipes, sophomore Ben Franco was credited with 11 saves, while at the faceoff-X, the Hornets won 12 of 20 with juniors Cole Scott and Jackson Peterson each winning six.
Parkland, which is coached by former Emmaus standout Mike Bender in his first year, remained undefeated on the season as they improved to 9-0 in the league and 13-0 overall. Seven different Trojans scored in the win led by senior Gregg Santa Anna who had a hat trick. Senior James Cipolla, the league’s MVP from a year ago and a Ohio State commit, was held to just one goal.
Emmaus will look to bounce back on Saturday at 11 p.m. as they travel to Wilson West Lawn for a non-league game.
Follow @Emmaussports.com on twitter, like Emmaus lacrosse on facebook to keep up to date on the team throughout the season.
Emmaus – 2-1-3-3 – 8
Parkland – 3-1-4-1 – 9
Emmaus goals – Zach Whalen 3, Michael Leschinsky 3, Jon Csensits, Matt Dapper
Emmaus assists – Sam Conway, Csensits, Elias Elcock, Whalen
Emmaus saves – Ben Franco 11
Parkland goals – Gregg Santa Anna 3, James Cipolla, Will Filipovits, Eli Fisher, Zach Poremba, Matt Geroulo, Joe Derenzo
Parkland assists – Santa Anna, Cipolla, Colby Carlson
Parkland saves – James McLaughlin 3