RECAP – Junior Jake Groh and senior Justin Llado scored first goals as the surging Emmaus boys soccer team defeated Whitehall 2-0 in a physical battle on Tuesday evening in a game played in a steady rain on the turf at Memorial Field.
The Hornets won their third straight game and third by shutout to improve to 3-1 in the EPC and 4-2 overall, while the Zephyrs dropped to 2-2 both in league play and overall.
“Whitehall is a up-and-coming team, they play us hard every time and it’s a tough game for us,” said Emmaus head coach John Cari. “I said to my coaches before the game tonight that I was a little nervous. It always gets physical and chippy, but they bring a good aggressive game against and they are a decent team. “
“The winner tonight would have first place in the division so I knew there was a lot at stake. We played well in the first half and then the second half I knew that they would throw a lot at us, but overall we came away with the win and I’m happy with that.”
Groh scored the only goal Emmaus would need in the 10th minute of play of the opening half as he took a pass from teammate Thomas Hanvey and put it past Whitehall goalie Justin Mattison. It marked the third straight game that Groh has scored at least one goal. He leads the team with six goals.
“Jake’s a big strong kid and he has skill to go with it,” said Cari. “We know Jake can score and can work off the ball and he can find opportunities. He’s playing with a lot of confidence and we’re 100 percent behind him.”
Llado added to the lead with just 16.5 left before half as scored his second goal of the season. Off a corner kick, Llado was positioned in front of the goal and knocked in a rebound shot that Mattison couldn’t handle.
For the game, Whitehall outshot Emmaus 7-5 with the Hornets holding a 7-3 edge in corners. In goal, sophomore Chris Buck picked up the win stopping all seven shots he faced while his counterpart, Mattison was credited with three stops. The game was a physical contest with both teams receiving a number of yellow cards.
Emmaus will return to action at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday as they travel to Easton to face the Red Rovers.
“I thought this one was an essential win,” said Cari. “This is a tough week for us. Easton is a physical team and we are going to their place where their fans are right on top of you. Freedom (Saturday) has put a lot of time into developing their program and right now they are sitting undefeated going into today so that’s going to be a real battle as well. “
Like Emmaus boys soccer on facebook, follow @Emmaussports and @EmmSoccer on twitter for updates throughout the season.
Wh – 0 – 0 – 0
Em – 2 – 0 – 0
Em goals – Jake Groh (10th minute, 1st half), Justin Llado (39th minute, 1st half)
Em assists – Thomas Hanvey 2
Em saves – Chris Buck 7
SOG – Em 5, Wh 7
Corners – Em 6, Wh 5
JV – Em 7, Wh 0