RECAP >> Junior Bryan Flor scored the game-winning goal on Monday night as the Hornets went on the road defeated Nazareth 2-1 in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs.
Flor scored his his first goal since September 21 as he followed up a rebound header and put it past Nazareth goalie Nolan Booth for his eighth goal of the season with a little over five minutes left in the first half to give Emmaus its second one-goal win over the Blue Eagles this season.
The victory was a much-needed one for head coach John Cari’s team, which had struggled late in the season going just 1-3-1 in its last five games.
Emmaus (11-3-5 overall) advances to Wednesday’s semifinal at 7:30 p.m. at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown to take on archrival Parkland, which was a 1-0 winner over Pleasant Valley. The two teams have met twice this season with the Trojans prevailing in the most recent meeting 3-0 a week ago and a 1-1 draw between the two back on October 2 at Memorial Field.
Sophomore Ryan Kiernan had opened up the scoring in the first half for the Hornets with his team-leading 13th goal before Nazareth had tied the game at 1-1 just six minutes later on a Cole Hilarczyk goal.
Emmaus held a slim 5-4 edge in shots on goal, while both teams had four corners in the game. Both goalies – Hornets senior Ty Bleiler and Booth – were credited with three saves in the game.
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Emmaus 2, Nazareth 1
Em – 2-0 – 2
Na – 1-0 – 1
Scoring:
Em – Ryan Kiernan, Bryan Flor
Na – Cole Hilarczyk