Over the last four years, no team has won more games or more championships than the Pleasant Valley girls lacrosse team.
The Bears have won the past four Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championships and have also claimed back-to-back District XI 3A titles.
Head coach Roxann Betz is well aware of the Monroe County’s squad success in recent history, which includes seven straight wins over her Emmaus team dating back to the 2022-23 season.
Facing the Bears at full strength has proven quite the challenge for the Hornets and most teams, but in last night’s much-anticipated matchup at chilly Memorial Field, Betz’ squad was faced with a scenario they never could have dreamed of — playing short a player(s) for the entire second half.
That was exactly the scenario Emmaus faced, and despite that, they still nearly pulled off the upset as they held Pleasant Valley to its lowest offensive output of the season in an 8-6 loss, the first in league play for the Hornets.
“We started the game strong and it was a back and forth for much of the first half despite getting several yellow cards,” said Betz, the Hornets 10th year head coach.
Emmaus, which last victory in the series came back in the 2021-22 season, played the Bears to even first quarter that ended in 2-2 tie.
In the second quarter, PV outscored the Hornets 4-2 to take an 6-4 advantage into the break.
“At the end of the second quarter, we received our fourth yellow card and had to play down a player for the rest of the game, so we needed to make some adjustments in our play,” noted Betz.
Despite being shorthanded, Emmaus was able to rally from a four-goal deficit to make it an 8-6 game. But that would be the closest the Hornets would get as neither team was able to find the back of the net in the final quarter.
“We never gave up,” said Betz. “The girls played with a lot of heart and tremendous hustle, and we kept the game close despite being down two players by the end of the game.”
Senior Sarah Gross, who has scored at least one goal through the first six games of the season, led the Emmaus offensive attack with a pair of goals, her 13th and 14th of the season.
Sophomores Evelyn Gavin and Avery Aquino also added scores in the loss, as did seniors Rylie Poll and Sarah Palazzo. In goal, junior Kate Rainford was busy making 13 saves for the Hornets who dropped to 3-1 in the EPC and 5-2 overall.
Pleasant Valley, which improved to 8-0 on the season, was led in scoring by sophomore Brielle Halamar who had a game-high five goals. Junior Sam Miller also added a pair of goals in the win. Senior Rylee Rath, the league’s MVP from a year ago and a University of Northwestern commit, was held scoreless on the night.
“We saw some great things from our team out there tonight and we are excited to possibly see them again in the post-season,” said Betz. “We know we can compete with them and if we clean up our game, we believe there could be a different outcome.”
The Hornets will look to bounce back on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. as they travel to Nazareth (2-1 EPC/5-1 overall).
Pleasant Valley 8, Emmaus 6
PV – 2-4-2-0 – 8
Em – 2-2-2-0 – 6
Scoring:
PV – Brielle Halamar 5g, Sam Miller 2g, Alex Green 1g, Emily Stipeck 10 saves
Em – Sarah Gross 2g, Evelyn Gavin 1g, Rylie Poll 1g, Avery Aquino 1g, Sarah Palazzo 1g, Kathryn Newhard 1a, Kate Rainford 13 saves