September 11, 2019
RECAP >> Over the past three seasons, the rivalry Emmaus has had with District One foe Downingtown West has been nothing short of intense.
The Hornets have gotten the better of the match-up in recent history, ending the Whippets season in two of the last three years, including winning 1-0 a year ago in the first round of states in a game that was delayed more than a half hour due to a fog delay at the Zephyr Sports Complex in Whitehall.
The only win for Ches-Mont League entry in the series came back in 2017 when they ended Emmaus’ season one game short of reaching the state finals with a 3-1 victory at Exeter High School.
On Monday afternoon at Memorial Field, the two teams hooked up again in an early-season non-league game with not much more than bragging rights on the line and the state playoffs still a couple of months away. But you wouldn’t know have known that as the two rivals battled it out for the fourth consecutive season in yet another intense 60-minute battle.
Fortunately for Emmaus they were able to continue their mastery over Downingtown West, but know this, it didn’t come easy.
Freshman Rachel Herbine scored a pair of goals, including what proved to be the game-winner in a high-scoring first half, and teammate sophomore Abby Burnett also scored two goals, as the Hornets remained unbeaten on the season with a hard-fought 5-3 win over the Whippets.
“It was a great test for us,” said legendary Emmaus head coach Sue Butz-Stavin following the game. “We could have a few more of these. It’s better to have a game like this now and then a couple more as we go through the season to prepare us for post-season play. This game showed us areas that we have to work on.”
The Hornets, who entered the game 4-0 and had outscored its opponents 46-0, got all they could handle as the two teams combined for seven goals and two ties in the first half . The Whippets also became the first team to scoring against the Hornets this season finding the back of the cage not once, not twice, but three times.
“I wasn’t quite pleased with giving up three goals in the first half, especially when you’re ahead, but we came back and we had some nice finishes on corners,” said Butz-Stavin.
Emmaus never trailed in the game as they led 1-0 on Burnett’s seventh goal of the season six minutes in and still led at the half 4-3 as both teams exchanged scores in the opening 30 minutes of play.
The only score in the second half was a big insurance goal for the Hornets as Burnett found the back of the cage with her second goal off an assist from junior Annika Herbine on a penalty corner, the sixth of the game for Emmaus.
Junior goalie Bailey Tietz played a solid game in the second half and preserved the win for Emmaus as she kept the Whippets off the scoreboard with a number of outstanding saves.
“It was better the second half,” said Butz-Stavin of Tietz’s play. “The first half she made a couple of saves, but the ball just sat there and you can’t give up second shots. She has to be able to knock the ball out of the circle and she has to be stronger on clearing the ball on that first shot.”
Rachel Herbine scored her team-leading 11th and 12th goals of the season in first half, sophomore Lexi Kociban also added her fifth goal and senior Liz Mazzella added a game-high two assists.
Emmaus outshot Downingtown West 13-8 in the game and held a 7-3 advantage in penalty corners.
Senior Tatum Johnson, a Rutgers commit, scored all three goals for Downingtown West which dropped to 0-2 on the season. The Whippets lost a number of talented Division 1 players to graduation, including Celina Riccardo (Michigan St) and Anna Miller and Juliana Smyth (St. Joe’s).
Emmaus will be back in action at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday as they host East Stroudsburg North at Memorial Field. The Hornets will close out the week with an 11:30 a.m. match-up on Saturday against another rival, Stroudsburg. Penn Sports Radio will have live coverage of that game beginning with the pregame show starting at 11:20 a.m.
Follow @Emmaussports.com on Twitter and ‘like’ Emmaus field hockey on facebook to keep up to date on the team throughout the season.
Downingtown West – 3 – 0 – 3
Emmaus – 4 – 1 – 5
DTW goals – Tatum Johnson (3)
DTW assists – Celina Riccardo
DTW saves – Sam Pearson 8
Em goals – Abby Burnett 2, Rachel Herbine 2, Lexi Kociban
Em assists – Liz Mazzella 2, Mackenzie Bruns, Burnett, Annika Herbine
Em saves – Bailey Tietz 5