It’s not often this season that Emmaus has found themselves trailing in game.
In fact, it’s only happened twice, and on both occasions the Hornets have responded.
Their latest comeback came on Monday night in their much-anticipated regular-season finale at rival Parkland in a matchup of the only two unbeatens in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. It was also a rematch of last year’s District XI 3A championship game won by Emmaus 1-0, the 37th straight district title for the Hornets.
After the Trojans surprised Emmaus with a goal from junior Kamryn Karrat less than two minutes into the game, head coach Sue Butz Stavin’s team responded less than five minutes later with the tying goal and then added two more insurance goals as the Hornets wrapped up the regular-season championship and another unbeaten run through league play with a 3-1 win over Parkland.
“Sometimes you have to overcome mistakes, you just can’t bury your head in the sand and give up,” said Butz-Stavin, the Hornets 51st year coach following the game. “There’s a lot of game time to go. It’s different if it’s in the last 30 seconds of the game you can still fight and try but I give a lot of credit to our kids, they kept the momentum going and capitalized on some shots and put some pressure on their goalkeeper.”
Emmaus did just that.
First, it was senior Gracie Huffer tying the game with her team-leading 29th goal of the season off a penalty corner. Four minutes later, junior Ella Horner gave the Hornets their first lead of the night at 2-1 with her 27th goal which proved to be the game-winner. Classmate Marissa Gigliotti added a big insurance goal, her 15th of the season, with a little over a minute left in the first half to push the lead to 3-1. Neither team scored in the second half.
“We will take the win and move on,” said Butz Stavin. “It’s a rivalry game. It was a well-played. Both teams wanted it. I give our kids a lot of credit for putting the pedal to medal.”
Emmaus finished a perfect 13-0 in league play and improved their overall mark to 18-0 on the season. They also extended their win streak to 30 straight games dating back to last season.
Parkland, meanwhile, dropped to 12-1 in the EPC and 14-3-1 overall with the loss. The Trojans three losses have been by a combined four goals.
Statistically, Emmaus outshot Parkland 14-7 in the game with the Hornets holding a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners. In goal, senior Emily Romano was credited with seven saves while her counterpart, Audrina Stewart, made nine stops.
Up next for Emmaus will be the EPC Tournament, which begins on Saturday. The Hornets are the 11-time defending league champions.
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Emmaus 3, Parkland 1
Em – 2-1-0-0- 3
Pa – 1-0-0-0 -1
Scoring:
Pa – Kamryn Karrat 13:05
Em – Gracie Huffer 8:11
Em – Ella Horner 4:05
Em – Marissa Gigliotti 1:20
Stats:
SOG – Em 14, Pa 7
PCs – Em 9, Pa 6
Saves – Em (Emily Romano 7), Pa (Audrina Stewart 9)