Earlier this season, Emmaus and Nazareth battled through 80 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods at Memorial Field to try and decide a winner.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net after 100 minutes and both sides walked away satisfied in earning a point following the scoreless draw.
A little over six weeks later, the two teams were at it again at the same venue with much more on the line with the winner advancing on in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs.
Once again, the two were tied after regulation, but just four minutes into overtime Kam McWhinney changed all that sending her team on to the next round.
The Hornets dynamic junior forward delivered the game-winning goal past Nazareth senior goalie Katie Henchey setting off a wild celebration as the Hornets defeated Nazareth 2-1 on Monday afternoon.
For McWhinney, it was her team-leading 13th goal of the season. The victory advances Emmaus to a semifinal date on Wednesday at the Zephyr Sports Complex in Whitehall against arch-rival and top-seeded Parkland, which survived an upset from eighth-seeded Bethlehem Catholic 3-2. The other semifinal will pit second-seeded Central Catholic (a 2-0 winner over Whitehall) taking on third-seeded Easton (5-1 winner over Northampton.
The victory also snapped a two-game losing streak for the Hornets (14-4-1) who were outscored 10-1 in their last two games following defeats to defending state champ Central Dauphin (7-0) and the Trojans (3-1).
After a scoreless first half, Emmaus had grabbed a 1-0 lead on freshman Sophia Shutkufski’s second goal of the season seven minutes into the second half.
The lead looked safe and the Hornets were just a little over four minutes away from winning in regulation, but Nazareth (12-4-2) responded and got the game-tying goal from sophomore Logan Sauer sending the game into overtime where McWhinney won it.
For the match, Emmaus outshot Nazareth 7-5 with the Blue Eagles holding a 6-3 edge in corners. In goal, junior Ashley Stine picked up the win for the Hornets.
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Emmaus 2, Nazareth 1 (OT)
Naz – 0-1-0 – 1
Em – 0-1-1 – 2
Scoring:
Em – Sophia Shutkufski 47′
Naz – Logan Sauer 76′
Em – Kam McWhinney 84′
STARTERS:
Naz – Hall, Kilareski, Mooney, Petruska, Danise, Ott, Guerra, Wells, Meneely, Martucci, Henchey (GK)
Em – Geder, Bender, Shutkufski, Powell, Esterly, McWhinney, Cooper, Paradise, Pinocci-Wrightsman, McNellis, Stine (GK)
(Provided by Cody Brady @LSVSports)