FIELD HOCKEY
The nine-time defending league champs begin their quest for a 10th straight EPC title hosting Liberty on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Memorial Field.
Head coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s squad went unbeaten in the league (13-0) and earned the No.1 overall seed. The Hurricane, the No.8 seed, finished 7-6. The two teams met on September 16 in Bethlehem with the Hornets rolling to 9-0 victory.
Emmaus has four players on the season who have scored more than 20 goals. Senior Autum Kernechel leads the team with 28 goals to go along with 25 assists. Classmate Emmy Horner is next (27g/23a) followed by sophomore Sadie Nawarynski (27g/11a). Another sophomore, Gracie Huffer, has 24 goals and classmate Madi Lenig has scored 13 times to go along with 20 assists. In goal, junior Aiko Price has 16 shutouts on the season.
The winner of Emmaus/Liberty will advance to the semifinals next Tuesday, October 15 to take on either No. 4 Parkland (10-3) or No. 5 Northampton (9-4) who play at 10 a.m. The other first round matchups on Saturday include No. 2 Nazareth (11-2) hosting No. 7 Whitehall (7-6) at 11 a.m. and No. 3 Easton (11-2) taking on No. 6 Stroudsburg (8-5) at 3 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
After playing archrival Parkland on Wednesday and falling in straight sets for the second time, the Hornets will make a return trip north up Cedar Crest Boulevard to take on the Trojans at Noon on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
First year head coach Jess Olang’s squad, the No. 5 seed, finished 12-4 in the league with their defeats coming to both Parkland and Central Catholic twice.
The Hornets have been led this season by juniors Maleya Hinds, Alyssa and Kylie Heffner along with Cirrae Cuffy and the team’s lone senior, Lauren Horvath.
The Emmaus/Parkland winner will take on either top-seeded and unbeaten Central Catholic (16-0) or No. 8 seed Stroudsburg (9-7). In the bottom part of the bracket, No. 2 Becahi (14-2) will host No. 7 Nazareth (9-7) at 10 a.m. and No. 3 Liberty (14-2) will take on No. 6 Pleasant Valley (12-4) at 2 p.m.
The semifinals will be held on Tuesday, October 15 at a site and time to be determined with the finals scheduled for Thursday, October 17. Parkland has won the last four league titles.