No matter what the sport, Parkland-Emmaus is always an intense rivalry.

It has even spilled over to lacrosse.

A ferocious feud has brewed between Parkland's and Emmaus' girls lacrosse squads. When the teams met in Monday's Lehigh Valley Conference championship game at Nazareth's Andrew S. Leh Stadium, it was their third meeting off the season.

The Lady Trojans won both regular season games against the Hornets and they came out of the match victorious by a score of 12-11 to capture the first postseason title for the Parkland girls' lacrosse program.

Parkland (16-4) gave up a few early goals to Emmaus, which had the momentum for most of the first half.

However, the Trojans' offensive production was driven by two spectacular ladies in junior Kelsey Carlon and sophomore Sophia Castillo. The two combined for nine goals and eight assists.

Carlon, who contributed four goals and was named all-LVC first team Monday night, was ecstatic after the game.

"It is really hard to beat a team three times," she said. "We all know that. We stuck it out and played a great game. Emmaus played a great game as well. This is a rough rivalry."

Parkland led at intermission. They held on to a one-goal margin with the score being, 6-5.

Head coach John Seitzinger said only minor alterations were made at halftime.

"We only adjusted our desire or intensity on the draw," he said. "We needed possessions. I knew if we had possession we would be good. Most teams can't defend our offense. In the second half we won a lot of draws and that put us in a lot of positive situations."

The second half overall was a positive situation for the Lady Trojans as the Green Hornets got on the board early, but Parkland kept retaliating.

Emmaus' Kaitlyn Wills netted a score with 11:55 remaining in the game and knotted it at nine a piece.

A big factor in this one was man-down situations. The Green Hornets (10-10) had to send a player to the penalty box on four different occasions and Parkland scored a goal during three of those advantages.

"That was huge," said Seitzinger. "We practice certain penalty situations. We look for spots that we want to isolate and we are almost 98 percent on yellow cards this year which is very good."

With the clock ticking as fast as the temperature was dropping on an unusually brisk night for the middle of May, the fans were starting to get fully invested in the contest.

With under eight minutes remaining the league MVP, Sophia Castillo, whipped a shot between the pipes. Parkland would take the lead 10-9 and never let go of it. Carlon added some insurance with another goal and when the final buzzer sounded the Lady Trojans were on the right end of a 12-11 score.

"We were all so excited," said Castillo, "because it was Emmaus and also in a championship game. We knew we had to give it our all."

Junior goalie Molly Diamondstien was integral in the victory with nine saves on a night when every goal was crucial. Sarah Staggard scored two goals and Lauren Kelly chipped in with another to round out the scoring for the Lady Trojans.

This victory not only earned them a gold medal, but also got them the first seed in the district tournament. Seitzinger said he will have his team prepared for it and any team they will face. He predicts a long run in the bracket that may end with them playing Easton or even Emmaus for the fourth time this season.