In a game that saw very little offense from either team and one that seemed destined for overtime, one play in the waning seconds made all the difference as the Emmaus boys soccer team suffered heartbreak on a hot and steamy night Wednesday at Parkland High School, falling to rival Parkland 1-0 .
Trojans senior midfielder Justin Douglas took a crossing pass from classmate forward Brice George and buried it to the upper portion of the net past Emmaus sophomore goalie Chris Buck with just 17.3 seconds left in regulation for the game’s only goal.
Parkland, the defending EPC and District XI champs, defeated the Hornets for the fifth straight time dating back to last season and improved to 1-0-1 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and overall.
The Hornets, meanwhile, dropped to 1-1 in the league and 1-2 after being shutout for the second straight game. Emmaus also remained winless at Parkland dating back to the 2008 season (0-4-1).
“I thought we had the better of the second half,” said Hornets head coach John Cari following the difficult defeat. “We struggled a little bit their in the first half, but then (in the second half) we brought it into their space but we just couldn’t connect on one.
“We were looking how to make our adjustments heading to overtime and then that happened. It’s tough. We will let it burn with them tonight and let it bother them (the players). Tomorrow we will work on our problems and then fix them for Friday. It’s the best answer I can give you.”
Neither team was able to generate much offense in the game with both teams managing just four shots on goal, while the Hornets held a slim 4-3 advantage in corners. Buck, who was praised afterwards by his coach, was credited with two saves and his counterpart, sophomore Victor Baran, stopped all four shots he face.
Emmaus lost senior defender co-captain Callen Reid who left the game in the 22nd minute of the first half after what looked like a cut above the eye. He didn’t return to the game after being evaluated by the training staff.
After being held scoreless in the past two games, Cari says he’s not too concerned with the offense moving forward.
“I think we’re going to see a change come Friday,” he said. “I’m not really worried about the offense. We work on defense first. We haven’ t done much with the offense.
“[Tonight’s result] is tough. I thought our goalkeeper had a really strong game. It was just a breakdown that happened and if not for that, we were probably looking at overtime. They (Parkland) just had the will to get it done. I give them credit. ”
The Hornets will look to snap its two-game losing skid on Friday as they host Nazareth at 3:30 p.m. at Memorial Field.
Em – 0 – 0 – 0
Pa – 0 – 1 – 1
Pa goal – Justin Douglas (2nd half)
Pa assist – Brice George
Starters – Emmaus: Jake Groh, AJ Febbrarro. Justin Llado, Nick Cari, Andrew Gaines, Eric Johnson, Thomas Hanvey, Callen Reid, Connor Dang, Alex Aiken. Chris Buck GK . Subs: Cayden Muthard, Patrick Walsh, Jake Perry, Alexzander Toto, Andrew McAllister, Anthony DeCresci, Evan Witman
Parkland: Teagan Mangahas, Bryce Schalbert, Justin Douglas, Brain Badawika, Brice George, Tsegae Geiger, Alex Wilsterman, Nathan Berger, Connor Burke, Zackary Morales, Victor Baran GK