It was not an easy road to the District 11 boys soccer playoffs. But now that the Hornets are there, they plan to make the most of it.

Emmaus earned the No. 5 seed in districts and opened play with a convincing 4-0 win over Northampton last week in the quarterfinal round.

The Hornets got goals from four different players to secure the win in their first game since taking Liberty to overtime in a league playoff game nearly two weeks ago. That 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes, who were the top seed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament, gave Emmaus confidence heading into districts.

“I think it gave them the realization that they can play with anybody,” said Hornet head coach John Cari. “It gave us some time. It gave us two weeks to focus for [districts].”

While Northampton might have had the better part of possession over the first 20 minutes of the game, the Hornets capitalized on their chances.

Kacper Grycel got his team on the board with 16:18 left in the first half. He got the ball on a turnover in the box and was able to turn and shoot past Northampton goal keeper Morgan Heffelfinger for a 1-0 lead.

The Hornets strengthened their grip on the game when Kevin Williams scored the first of his two goals just four minutes after his team’s first goal.

Williams took a pass from Grycel and fired from 20 yards out for a 2-0 lead with 12:10 left in the first half.

Emmaus out-shot the Kids 4-0 in the first half.

“Part of the strategy was just getting shots on the goal keeper,” said Williams. “With the wet conditions and the slippery ball it was going to be hard to make saves.”

That game plan led to Williams’ second goal with 23:58 left in the game, which came off a rebound. Heffelfinger stopped Dakota Bauer’s shot, but Williams was there to gather it and send it into the net.

Brendon Melin scored Emmaus’ final goal of the game.

The Hornets (10-6-4) moved on to face top-seeded Stroudsburg in Tuesday’s semifinals. That game was played after Press deadline.

While the season has had its ups and downs, the Hornets are looking to peak in the district tournament.

“We’re hungry,” said Williams. “The season has been hard-fought. Things haven’t necessarily gone our way. But the way we played against Liberty we proved we could come out and compete with the best teams in the Valley and I think we’re ready to challenge for this district title and get into the state playoffs.”