Field Hockey – Hornets celebrate Senior Night with 5-0 win over rival Parkland; finish regular-season 18-0 and earn top seed for EPC playoffs

RECAP >> Emmaus celebrated its Senior Night and yet another unbeaten regular-season as the Hornets blanked rival Parkland 5-0 on Thursday night at home at Memorial Field.

Four different players scored goals for head coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s squad, which improved to 18-0 overall and 14-0 in the EPC. In their 18 games this season, Emmaus has outscored its opponents by an incredible 159-2 margin.

In the win over the Trojans, who entered with a 13-4 mark, junior Abby Burnett led the offense with a pair of goals – Nos. 19 and 20 on the season – while classmate Rachel Herbine had a game-high two assists. Seniors Jenna Villeneuve and Kyleigh Faust also scored in the win while sophomore Emma Cari turned away all five shots she faced in posting her 16th shutout of the season.

Emmaus outshot Parkland 23-7 and dominated in penalty corners 23-4.

Prior to the game, the team honored its nine seniors along with their parents. The players recognized were: Alexis Kociban, Maddie Huffer, Abigail O’Donnell, Kyleigh Faust, Brooke Mancini, Jenna Villeneuve, Morgan Suppes, Tatyanna Lainez and Emily Buss.

Up next will be the EPC playoffs which get underway on Saturday. Top-seeded Emmaus will host Liberty, the No. 8 seed, at 2 p.m. The two teams met back on October 7 in Bethlehem with the Hornets rolling to a 10-0 win.

The other quarterfinal matchups are: #7 Northampton @ #2 Nazareth, #6 Stroudsburg @ #3 Easton and #5 Parkland @ #4 Pocono Mountain East. The semifinals are set for Tuesday, October 19 with the finals being held on Thursday, October 21. There was no tournament a year ago due to COVID.

To stay up to date with Emmaus field hockey, follow on social media: Twitter(@Emmaussports.com, @EHSFhockey) and Facebook (Emmaussports)

Pa – 0-0-0-0 – 0

Em – 1-3-0-1 – 5

Scoring: Abby Burnett 2g, Ava Zerfass 1g, Jenna Villeneuve 1g, Kyleigh Faust 1g (PS), Rachel Herbine 2a, Maddie Huffer 1a, Emma Cari 5 saves