They say in sports that beating the same team twice in one season can be difficult.
How about doing it for a third time?
And keeping arguably the longest consecutive championship streak in any sport in the country alive?
Ella Horner and her Emmaus teammates did just that in their matchup against archrival Parkland in last Thursday’s District XI 3A Championship game at the Zephyr Sports Complex at Whitehall High School.
And now they can breathe a sigh of relief and exhale after keeping ‘The Streak’ alive.
Facing their archrivals for the third time this season, Horner shined on the big stage as she scored both of her team’s goals in leading her nationally ranked and unbeaten team (23-0 overall) to a 2-0 win over the Trojans and the program’s 38th consecutive district title.
Horner, an Ohio State University commit who was coming off a hat trick in her team’s 5-1 win over Stroudsburg in the semifinals earlier in the week, added to her post-season total with a goal in each half as her team celebrated winning gold yet again while also beating their rivals for the third time.
This one, however, was extra sweet.
Not only because it was against Parkland, but because it kept one of greatest high school sports streaks alive for yet another season.
“I was trying to stay calm all day in school. You don’t want to let the emotions get the best of you,” said Horner following the game with her gold medal draped around her neck.
“Playing a team three times is tough. We went back and watched some film from the last time we played them and made some adjustments that helped us get the win tonight.”
Whatever adjustments Emmaus made from their 1-0 (4-2 shootout win) over Parkland from two weeks ago certainly worked.
And now they can once again call themselves District XI champions — the 2026 version.
No pressure, right?
“They don’t feel any pressure, do they,” laughed Emmaus head coach Sue Butz-Stavin. “When we start each season, we have high expectations of what we want to accomplish.
“It was a great competitive game,” she added. ” Parkland has some great athletes and we tried to neutralize some of their big guns. It’s a great victory for the kids. They worked awfully hard for it.”
Horner, who entered the game with 32 goals on the season, scored the first of her two goals in the second quarter maneuvering her way through the midfield into the scoring circle and unleashing a blast past Trojans goalie Audrina Stewart.
She later added her second goal of the night – a big insurance goal – in the fourth quarter off an assist from teammate junior Lovey Pilarski.
“She’s like the center forward so maybe she should have the majority of the goals but it’s what the other team brings to her that it creates her offensive ability,” said Butz-Stavin of Horner.
“It’s a team effort,” said Horner. “I was really happy that we had some freshmen and some seniors step in. We all put it together nicely tonight.”
Emmaus, which has allowed a measly eight goals on the season, posted its third shutout in the playoffs and 16th of the season.
“Defense wins championships, offense wins games, said senior goalie Emily Romano. “We knew our defense had to be excellent tonight and they were. Shoutout to Ellie Fields, Kate Rainford, Riley Povilaitis, Peyton Webb and Madi Lenig.”
“The defense played great tonight. They really stepped up,” said Horner. “Parkland is a fast team so we had to make sure we didn’t have girls straggling behind us.”
Emmaus outshot the Trojans 13-5 in the game and held a slight 5-3 advantage in penalty corners.
With both the EPC and District XI titles secured, the Hornets will now prepare to defend its PIAA state title from a year ago. They will host a first-round game on Tuesday taking on Garnet Valley, District One’s sixth place team. The two teams met a year ago in the opening round with Emmaus winning 5-0. The Eastern Pa. Sports Network will provide LIVE coverage.
“We will enjoy this win tonight and get ready for our next practice” said Romano. “We are super excited, but we are taking it one game at a time.”
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Emmaus 2, Parkland 0
Pa – 0-0-0-0 – 0
Em – 0-1-0-1 – 2
Scoring:
Em – Ella Horner (assist Marissa Gigliotti)
Em – Horner (assist Lovey Pilarski)
Stats
SOG – Pa 5, Em 13
PCs – Pa 3, Em 5
Saves – Pa (Audrina Stewart 10), Em (Emily Romano 5)