RECAP >> Freedom came to Emmaus’ Memorial Field on Tuesday night with the gaudy resume.
A perfect 9-0 record.
Averaging 18 goals per game while allowing a little under four per contest.
Five different players with over 20+ goals on the season.
And the defending District XI Class 3A champs.
None of that seemed to matter to head coach Bob Kornicke’s young Emmaus squad.
Playing with a sense of revenge on their minds after having their season ended a year ago by Freedom in the district quarterfinals, the Hornets played inspired lacrosse from the opening whistle as they put together their best effort of the season in soundly defeating the Patriots 12-5 and handing them their first loss of season.
Emmaus waisted little time in proving to Freedom and the rest of the Lehigh Valley, for that matter, that they are a team to be reckoned with as they used a six-goal opening quarter in picking up their biggest win to date.
In the victory, which kept the Hornets unbeaten in the EPC at 4-0 and 7-2 overall, several players stood out.
Senior John Hughes had a career-best effort with six goals to lead the offense, which scored the most goals against Freedom this season. Junior Will Barber was steady as usual with a six-point effort (3 goals/3 assists) and eclipsing the 200-career point mark for his career, while senior Aidan Garrett was outstanding winning 11 of 19 faceoffs against Pates junior Jared Karabinus who entered the game winning 82 percent at the X. Garrett also had 10 ground balls in the game.
In goal, junior Sam Rainford came up with a number of big saves part of his 15 stops on the night, and in front of Rainford, defensemen juniors John Wassel, Erik Wentz and Zach Yenawine held Freedom to its lowest offensive output of the season.
Emmaus led 6-1 after one quarter and maintained a five-goal advantage (8-3) at the break. Freedom was able to get two early goals to cut the deficit to 8-5, but the Hornets outscored the visitors 4-0 the rest of the way. The game was marred by 18 penalties, 11 of which went against Freedom.
In the loss, seniors Alex Hume and Jake Ballerini each scored two goals for the Pates.
Emmaus will look to continue its winning ways on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. as they travel to Salisbury High School to take on Central Catholic. The game will be carried LIVE on The Eastern Pa. Sports Network beginning with the pregame show at 5:10 p.m.
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Emmaus 12, Freedom 5
F – 1-2-2-0 – 5
Em – 6-2-2-2 – 12
Scoring:
Em – John Hughes 6g, Will Barber 3g/3a, Ashton Fehr 2g, Michael Restino 1g/1a, Liam Rooney 2a, Sam Rainford 15 saves
F – Alex Hume 2g/1a, Jake Ballerini 2g, Caden Dudeck 1g, Ryan Hathaway 12 saves