Emmaus and Northampton had quite the rivalry last season with the two teams meeting three times on the pitch.
The Hornets had gotten the better of the K-Kids winning two of the three one-goal matchups, including a 1-0 victory in the opening round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Tournament.
The one result Northampton got, however, came on the biggest stage as the K-Kids avenged for two early-season losses by defeating Emmaus 2-1 in the District XI 4A championship game, capturing their first ever title.
Yesterday afternoon at Memorial Field, when the two squads renewed their rivalry some 11 months later, Chris Hain’s squad had revenge on their minds, and the Hornets delivered a performance that certainly made the second-year coach smile as they knocked off the defending champs 4-1.
As they had done in the district championship game, Emmaus had trailed in the match as Northampton’s Brielle Szoke had given the visitors a 1-0 lead, but after that, the Hornets didn’t allow a goal the rest of the way while scoring four of their own as they won for the seventh straight time.
Junior Sophia Isaksson wound up scoring the game-winning goal, her fourth of the season, in the 24th minute as Emmaus remained unbeaten in the EPC at 6-0 while improving to 7-1 overall.
Junior Giuliana Meyer had tied the game at 1-1 in the first half with her team-leading sixth goal of the season, and classmate Lizzie Bender added a big insurance goal, her fourth, in the 32nd minute to give the Hornets a 3-1 lead.
In goal, senior Sadie Wallace picked up the win turning away six of the seven shots she faced, while her counterpart, Grace Caulwell, had five saves.
Emmaus will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. as they host Bethlehem Catholic at Memorial Field.
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Emmaus 4, Northampton 1
No – 1-0 – 1
Em – 4-0 – 4
Scoring:
No – Brielle Szoke
Em – Giuliana Meyer (assist Sophia Shutkufski)
Em – Sofia Isaksson (assist Lizzie Bender)
Em – Bender
Em – Celeste Peralta (assist Hannah Berk)