Last week was quite busy for the Whitehall field hockey team as they ended the regular season and entered the playoffs, posting a win over Pocono Mountain East to advance to the next round.

After dropping their two final games to the Green Hornets and Trojans, the Zephs didn't have much time to lick their wounds, hosting the Cardinals at the Sports Complex on Saturday to begin the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Championships.

Unfortunately, the team lost to Strousburg in the EPC semifinals 4-1, so the girls now wait for the start of districts.

The Zephs finished the season at 9-4-1, placing them second in the Skyline Division of the EPC. Their four losses came against Emmaus and Parkland, two teams that sandwiched them in the division standings with the Hornets going undefeated to earn the Skyline crown.

In their quarterfinal win against the Cardinals, Kourtney Cunningham scored in both halves, propelling the Zephs to the 2-1 win. On each occasion she took feeds from Cara Bonshak to help advance the Zephs into the semifinals against Stroudsburg High School.

"We had great composure and great passing in the first half," said head coach Emily Repsher.

Repsher said they were able to come out energized on their home turf, taking the 1-0 lead against the fifth-seeded Cardinals. However in the second half, Repsher said that PME showed a sense of urgency and started to mount pressure on the Zephyr's defense. That led to some mistakes, but the Zephs were able to weather the storm to hold onto the 2-1 victory.

She said that pressure essentially put them on their heels a little bit, but the Cardinals weren't able to capitalize.

"Overall, we came away with the win, and I couldn't ask for anything better," said Repsher.

Goalkeeper Kayla Nailor had three saves in the win for the Zephs.

It will be another big test for the Zephs when Whitehall travels to Pleasant Valley High School to play Stroudsburg High School in the semifinals. They'll be playing the top-seeded Mountaineers who went undefeated this season.

Repsher expects the Mounties to be fully prepared and ready for the Zephs from the opening whistle.

"They're going to come out with a lot of passion and a lot of aggression," said Repsher. "We just have to play our game."

She knows that have to remain calm and stick to what's got them this far

"If we play a smart game and not feed into their emotion, and stick to our game, we can come away with a win," she said.

They'll have to contend with a couple of players who will continue their field hockey careers in college, including Taylor Ross and Krista Giolo. Ross is the Mounties goalkeeper, while Giolo is a center midfielder.

To overcome as team that's scored 93 goals this season, the Zephs will have to be sharp in their own end.

"As long as we keep defensive organization on their scorers and not panic, we should be all right," said Repsher.

Repsher said the formula is simple: "It's play our hearts out, basically."

In the end, it comes down to execution and playing as good as they're able for two halves.

"All we have to be is the best team in that stadium that night and move on," said Repsher.