Emmaus 1, Easton 0 (Boys)
At Memorial Field on Wednesday night, the top-seeded Hornets, fresh off winning their second straight EPC Championship, found themselves in a dog fight facing Easton, the No. 8 seed, in their quarterfinal round matchup of the District XI Class 4A playoffs.
The Red Rovers, who battled Emmaus to a scoreless draw a little over a month ago, had one goal in mind in looking to pull off what would have been a huge upset: get the match to penalty kicks and take their chances.
Easton, which let a late two-goal lead slip away earlier this week before defeating Pocono Mountain East 3-2 in overtime in a game decided by penalty kicks (5-4), was able to accomplish that goal as they frustrated the Hornets all night long with their defensive style of play.
For Emmaus, playing extra soccer this season has been nothing new for head coach John Cari’s team as they had been involved in six previous overtime games (3-0-3).
But this would be their first penalty kick session of the year.
The Hornets were ready for the moment.
With senior Will Peck coming up with a big save in goal and classmate Robbie Tumblin scoring the game-winning goal in the fifth round, Emmaus was able to survive and defeat Easton (0-0, 5-4 PKs).
The victory advances the Hornets (18-1-3 overall) to the semifinal round on Tuesday where they will face fifth-seeded Liberty, which got a late goal to knock off fourth seeded Northampton 1-0. The Hornets and the Hurricane played to a 0-0 overtime draw back on October 4. Parkland and Freedom will play in the other semifinal.
In the penalty kick session, Easton scored first but sophomore Brennan Stack tied it 1-1 for Emmaus. The Red Rovers would miss on their second attempt, and the Hornets took advantage on senior Rio Johnson’s goal.
Easton would tie it at 2-2, but then Emmaus went back on top on senior Conner Powell’s goal. The Red Rovers answered with the tying goal before junior Maseyn Muthard scored putting the Hornets ahead 4-3.
With Easton tying it at 4-4, it was then Tumblin calmly stepping to the line and burying the game-winner setting off a wild celebration and sending the Hornets to the next round.
Emmaus outshot Easton 8-1 in the match and held a 6-2 advantage in corners.
Ea – 0-0-0-0-0 – 0
Em – 0-0-0-0- (5-4 PKs)
Scoring:
Ea – N/A
Em – Brennan Stack, Rio Johnson, Conner Powell, Maseyn Muthard, Robbie Tumblin
SOG – Ea 1, Em 8
Saves – Ea (Matt Laquintano 8), Em (Will Peck 1)
Corners – Ea 2, Em 6
Emmaus 1, Freedom 0 (Girls)
At Memorial Field, junior Lizzy Bender scored the only goal of the game as the Hornets defeated Freedom for the third time this season — all by shutout — to advance in the District XI Class 4A playoffs.
Bender, a 1st Team All-EPC and All-State selection, scored in the 29th minute of the first half as she scored her team-leading 21st goal of the season directly off a corner kick.
The win advances third-seeded Emmaus (18-3) to the semifinal round next Tuesday at a site and time to be determined. They will face second-seeded Nazareth, which blanked seventh-seeded Northampton 3-0. It will be the second meeting between the two teams with the Blue Eagles prevailing 2-1 in double overtime on October 2.
Emmaus dominated Freedom in the match outshooting the Pates 14-2. In goal, senior Sadie Wallace picked up her 12th shutout win of the season, while her counterpart, Brooklyn Pronovich, was busy making 13 saves for the Pates who ended their season at 12-7-1.
Free – 0-0 – 0
Em – 1-0 – 1
Scoring:
Em – Lizzy Bender
SOG – Free – 2, Em – 14
Saves – Free (Brooklyn Pronovich 13), Em (Sadie Wallace 2)