Parkland girls soccer coach Al Haddad talks to his team constantly about getting quick starts in games, “playing downhill” once they have a lead, “finding feet” with their passes and keeping the ball out of the air. In the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Championship game against Emmaus, Haddad’s team got away from those things early in the game, but corrected them at the half and came away with a 2-0 win and their third straight EPC title.

“We weren’t happy at all the way we played the first half,” said Haddad. “Emmaus’ style is a frustrating style for us in a sense that just when we start to build up and we lose the ball, they play a bigger ball out and we’re always retracking and collecting the ball and coming back again. It was a frustrating, because we started playing that style and getting the ball up in the air a little bit. I think in the second half, after reminding them of who we are and how we play, the ball got on the ground and played much better.”

In their recent wins, Parkland had gotten early goals and was able to open gaps in their opponent’s defense, but Emmaus kept them off the board until Brooke Schutter scored her first of two goals on the night with 26:42 left in the game, putting Parkland up 1-0. Schutter capped the scoring 18 minutes later to give Parkland some breathing room and a 2-0 lead that stood up to be the final score.

Rachel Medlar and Helen Flynn picked up assists on Schutter’s goals, and Haddad was especially impressed with Flynn’s play at midfield.

“I thought that Helen Flynn was the player of the match,” he said. “Brooke got the two goals, but Helen’s energy, her determination to win the midfield tonight was definitely a turning point of the game and that’s good to see, because we lose two quality midfielders and to know that she’s there coming back next year makes me feel really good about our midfield next year.”

Parkland had five shots hit off the frame of the net during the night, with just one of them going into the goal. The rest either bounced away or were saved by Emmaus goalie Jess Harnett, who was credited with 10 saves.

After having a 15-game shutout streak snapped against Whitehall in the final regular season game, Parkland has now had three straight shutouts in the postseason, with wins over Liberty, Whitehall and Emmaus. Goalie Olivia Schantz made five saves against the Green Hornets, as she and her defense combined to frustrate the Hornets.

“They’re a good team and had some chances,” said Schantz. “Reilly McGinnis is a great player, but our defense did really well at keeping her away from the front of the net and keeping a lot of balls from getting through. The ones that did get through, we dealt with.”

The Lady Trojans, who were the top seed in the EPC Tournament will be the top seed in the Class 4A district field. They last won districts in 2012, but Schantz is confident that the team has already put those experiences behind and is prepared for a drive through districts and into states.

“I think we have more experience this year, definitely,” Schantz said. “We lost two seniors last year, who were great, but I think we filled their spots well and I think we should be looking good going into districts. We just need to keep up the hard work.”

The senior goalkeeper looks at the added pressure of going to districts and welcomes it, as she and her teammates look to reach their preseason goal of winning districts and doing some damage in the PIAA Tournament next month.

“It’s rewarding and humbling, especially since we worked so hard at practice,” said Schantz of the three-peat in the EPC. “There’s a lot of pressure on us because we had the undefeated season, but the pressure is a privilege. It’s great to be out here with my best friends and winning a third straight EPC Championship.”

Parkland plays Thursday against eighth-seeded Pocono Mountain East, who beat Nazareth 3-2 in the pigtail round of district Tuesday night. The quarterfinal game with the Cardinals will begin at 7 p.m. at Parkland High School.