RECAP >> A 14-game winning streak.
An Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship.
And they boasted the league’s two most talented players.
All of that was on the resume of the Freedom boys soccer team this season.
But it hardly meant much to the team they were facing last night – Emmaus, the kings of District XI Class 4A boys soccer – who, oh by the way, were the two-time defending District XI Class 4A champs with 10 straight appearances in the finals on their resume.
Make that now 11 straight.
Putting together one its best overall efforts of the season, Emmaus (13-4-5) handed the top-seeded Patriots just its third loss of the season with an impressive 2-0 victory in last night’s semifinals held at the Zephyr Sports Complex at Whitehall High School.
Sophomore Ryan Kiernan and senior Bryan Flor scored goals in each half, and the Hornets defense posted its 10th shutout of the season as Emmaus will have an opportunity for a three-peat at 7 p.m. Thursday night back at Whitehall as they face rival Parkland, a 1-0 overtime winner over Nazareth. The game will be carried LIVE on www.easternpasportsnetwork.com beginning with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
The Trojans and Hornets have met three times this season with Parkland winning the past two matchups (3-0 and 1-0 OT). The two rivals also played to a 1-1 draw back on October 2. Both teams also qualified for the PIAA State Tournament which gets underway on November 9.
Kiernan, who entered the game leading the team with 13 goals, gave Emmaus a 1-0 lead just eight minutes into the first half off when he scored his 14th goal off an assist from senior Holden Brown.
Flor, who had a pair of goals in the Hornets 4-1 quarterfinal win over Easton last week, then added a big insurance goal, his 11th of the season, 10 minutes into the second half and that was all the Hornets would need to end Freedom’s season at 19-3.
Defensively, seniors Jaeden Amato and John Hanvey along with junior Blaise Verrastro and senior goalie Ty Bleiler were outstanding in limiting a high-scoring Freedom offense to just a few scoring chances.
Emmaus outshot Freedom 6-4 in the contest and the Hornets held a 5-1 edge in corners. Bleiler was credited with three saves while his counterpart Tristian Willey made four stops.
GIRLS RECAP:
In the girls’ game, Emmaus was looking to defeat rival Parkland for the first time this season and the Hornets got off to a good start as junior Madison Woodward scored her 10th goal of the season 10 minutes into the first half.
But Parkland, winners’ of five of the past six District XI titles, rallied with four unaswered goals as the Trojans defeated Emmaus for the fourth time this season 4-1 to advance to the District finals.
Senior Mariana Aubele-Gonzalez led Parkland with a pair of goals while juniors Ivy Dias and Catherine Crampton also scored for the Trojans who outshot Emmaus 13-3.
Parkland (18-2-1) will face Nazareth, a 3-0 winner over Easton, in Thursday’s final at 5 p.m. at the Zephyr Sports Complex at Whitehall High School.
Emmaus ends its season at 12-8 overall. The Hornets will lose eight seniors to graduation: Molly Lineberger, Sophia Candy, Maddie Brzezinski, Jena Luck, Kam Watkins, Olivia Naccarato, Kaitlyn Ewing and Hannah Yencho.
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Emmaus 2, Freedom 0 (Boys)
Em – 1-1 – 2
Fre – 0-0 – 0
Scoring:
Em goals – Ryan Kiernan, Bryan Flor
Em assist – Holden Brown, Jack Lawrence
Em saves – Ty Bleiler 4
Parkland 4, Emmaus 1 (Girls)
Em – 1-0 – 1
Pa – 3-1 – 4
Scoring:
Em goals – Madison Woodward
Park goals – Mariana Aubele-Gonzalez 2, Ivy Dias, Catherine Crampton