There’s an old saying that you can only get so wet. Emmaus and Pleasant Valley tested that theory last Thursday night when they played the District 11 Class 4A quarterfinals in a constant rain that at times turned into more of a downpour. It’s likely that the Pleasant Valley players felt the cold and rain more than Emmaus players, since the Lady Hornets walked off the field with a 3-0 win and a spot in the semifinals.

“I think the girls did everything that we wanted to do to neutralize Pleasant Valley,” said second-year Emmaus head coach Sarah Oswald. “We wanted to keep more possession of the ball, instead of just kicking it and being under a lot more pressure than we have the last couple of games. We found those outlet passes and we were able to build the pressure with more than just one or two players. I was really impressed with the effort tonight by everyone.”

It looked like Emmaus would take an early lead, but a shot by Reilly McGinnis went off the crossbar and took an unlucky bounce for Emmaus. With 6:40 left in the first half, Emmaus’ Sophie Pickering opened the scoring. Sarah Schuster assisted on the goal to give Emmaus a 1-0 lead.

The Hornets put the game away in the second half

The second-half scoring started with the first varsity goal of Chrissy Lambert’s career when she put up a strong shot from about 20 yards out that made it through a host of defenders and gave the Hornets an insurance goal. About seven minutes later, Maddie Fey used an assist from Pickering to give Emmaus a 3-0 lead, effectively putting the game away midway through the half.

“In this type of weather, in this game, with the season on the line, 1-0 isn’t a good lead,” said Oswald. “We talked at halftime about being able to put the ball in the back of the net and cushion our lead and take the pressure off of us. That goal from Chrissie was great. We told them to put the ball in a dangerous place and she struck the ball well. The third goal from Maddie was excellent.”

Pickering finished the night with a goal and an assist and didn’t seem to be fazed by the weather, especially since her team picked up the win.

“A big thing is backing them up on defense and making sure that there’s always someone behind them,” said the junior midfielder. “That way if a ball skips through, there’s always someone back there to clean it up.”

The win sets up a fourth meeting with rival Parkland, which has beaten Emmaus in the three previous meetings. The Hornets have challenged the undefeated Lady Trojans in each game. Instead of shying away from another meeting, Emmaus welcomes the challenge.

“Parkland is great, and we’re always told that we give them our best game and that we go after them and pressure them in a way that they don’t necessarily see from other teams,” said Oswald. “We’re going to have to put our best effort on the field and keep them away from our goal. They missed a number of opportunities in the last game and we’ve got to eliminate those.”

In the last meeting, Parkland won 2-0 to win the EPC championship, but also had five shots go off the frame. The players are excited and looking forward to the meeting, and Oswald has never sensed any fear from her players.

“This is a very relaxed team, even in tense situations,” said Oswald. “They don’t panic and they’ve been able to stay loose and I know they’ll come with their best and hopefully, we can come away with a victory.”