You can’t judge Emmaus’ loss to Parkland simply by looking at the 4-0 outcome. The truth is that Emmaus played the best team in District 11, but in the end, Parkland found a way to use the momentum of a key goal to pull away from Emmaus and remain undefeated at 12-0 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and 13-0 overall.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been put under pressure like that, and a team playing direct like that was successful,” said Parkland coach Al Haddad. “That was our biggest test of the season. They came out and played us. I have a high level of respect for coach Oswald for playing us even-up and letting the chips fall where they may. They’re a great team and they’re only going to get better. They’ll be a force to deal with in districts.”

Emmaus gave up a goal to Brooke Schutter almost halfway through the half. Schutter broke free down the middle of the field and goalkeeper Jess Harnett stopped the initial shot, but Schutter played a rebound and sneaked the ball into the net to put the Lady Hornets down 1-0.

Another rebound goal, this time from Rachel Laird with 27:52 left to play in the game gave Parkland big momentum for a third goal three minutes later when Schutter scored her second of the game.

“We were in the game and then everything just seemed to fall apart,” said Emmaus coach Sarah Oswald. “It’s something that’s plagued us all season. We just don’t win balls out of the air. We let the ball bounce and let teams run at our goal. It’s something that we need to figure out in the next three games before playoffs roll around.”

Parkland got a final goal later in the second half to cap the scoring.

At 9-4 in the EPC and 9-6 overall, Emmaus has clinched a spot in districts, but Oswald doesn’t want her players to accept that as good enough. She’s looking at the final three regular season games – against Northampton (2-6-1, 3-6-1), Nazareth (6-4-2, 6-5-3) and Central Catholic (9-2-1, 10-3-1) – as games that could determine how her team goes into the postseason.

“We started pretty strong in the beginning [of the season] and then had some rough patches,” Oswald said. “Now, we have to build up to finish strong and gain some momentum. We’re back in divisional play, so anything can happen. We’ve seen that within the division already. We’ve got to be ready to go and put our best effort on the field every day. People are coming to get us. People are trying to knock us down. Everyone is fighting for a spot in the EPC, so we have to be ready for it.”

Earlier in the season, Emmaus picked up wins over Northampton and Nazareth, but dropped a 4-3 decision to Central Catholic. The Hornets will need some help to gain the EPC wild card, since both Central Catholic and Whitehall are ahead of them in the wild card standings.