In a word, dominating.
That pretty much sums up the effort from Emmaus last night as the Hornets had no trouble in defeating upset-minded Northampton in the District XI Class 3A semifinals held at the Zephyr Sports Complex in Whitehall.
Now, they can start thinking about keeping ‘THE STREAK’ alive.
With four different players scoring goals, top-seeded Emmaus (21-1 overall) jumped out to an early lead and were never challenged the rest of the way as they rolled to an 8-0 rout of the K-Kids, the No.5 seed.
Senior Melea Weber, the league’s MVP, led the offense with a hat trick in the first half as the Hornets led comfortably at the break 7-0.
The win marked the second time this season that Emmaus has defeated Northampton (9-0 in first meeting) and sends head coach Sue Butz-Stavin’s team back to the finals where they will be looking to win their 35th straight District XI championship.
Awaiting the Hornets in Thursday’s title game back at Whitehall at 7 p.m. will be archrival Parkland, which defeated Easton 2-1 in the other semifinal. Emmaus defeated the Trojans by the slimmest of margins 1-0 when the two teams met back on October 10 at Memorial Field. The victory also guarantees both a berth in the PIAA State Tournament.
Sophomore Sharlise Solano and senior Autumn Held each scored a pair of goals in the win, while senior Haley Kvacky also had a goal and two assists. Juniors Autumn Kernechel and Emmy Horner both had a game-high two assists.
Emmaus dominated not only on the scoreboard but statistically outshooting Northampton 27-3 in the game and holding a 13-2 advantage in penalty corners. In goal, senior Emma Cari stopped all three shots she faced and posted her 17th shutout of the season.
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Emmaus 8, Northampton 0
Em – 2-5-1-0 – 8
No – 0-0-0-0 – 0
Scoring:
1st Quarter
Em – Melea Weber (assist Autum Kernechel)
Em – Melea Weber (assist Emmy Horner)
2nd Quarter
Em – Sharlise Solano (assist Melea Weber)
Em Autumn Held (assist Emmy Horner)
Em – Sharlise Solano (assist Haley Kvacky)
Em – Haley Kvacky (assist Autum Kernechel)
Em – Melea Weber (assist Avery Burnett)
3rd Quarter
Em – Autumn Held (assist Haley Kvacky)