Don’t be surprised if Emmaus wins a lot of close, low-scoring boys soccer games this season.

Many of the biggest losses that the team has had to deal with involved players who were offensive minded players. The good news is that there are some emerging players who will help on offense and the defense has remained largely intact, giving head coach John Cari something to work with.

On offense, Emmaus lost the tandem of Jake Groh and Andrew Gaines as well A.J. Febbraro, Eric Johnson and others. Patrick Walsh figures to step into a larger role offensively for his senior season after he scored 12 goals and had five assists as a junior.

Two other seniors – Hudson Peck and Alexzander Toto – will also provide some assistance.

“I think we’ve got some guys to jump in and some guys who can score for us,” said Cari, who enters his 16th season as the Hornets’ coach. “We have some key starters back and they all have potential to help offensively.”

Defensively, goalkeeper Chris Buck is back for his senior season. He’s also got classmates Jaeden Amato and John Hanvey in front of him to provide some help.

The defense figures to be a step ahead of the offense, but the bottom line is that the Hornets should be balanced enough to keep Emmaus at or near the top of the standings in an abbreviated season.

Emmaus became the third straight East Penn Conference team to win both the conference championship and gold medals in districts.

Freedom shocked the local soccer scene with gold at both levels in 2018 and Parkland accomplished the feat in 2017.

The Hornets will look to become repeat champions at both levels in 2020.

“We always know there’s a target on us, but especially after last season,” said Cari. “There are always good teams in the EPC and I think there are a few teams that are going to have a shot at getting gold at either level.”

The Hornets went a combined 21-4-0 last season. In the postseason, Emmaus outscored their opponents 15-2 with scores ranging from a 6-0 shutout over Freedom in the EPC tournament to a 1-0 win in overtime against Whitehall in the finals of the District 11 4A championship.

Every team has had to work its way through an obstacle course moving around the limitations of COVID-19.

Teams have dealt with the issues in different ways and there is no way to know what’s going to happen throughout the season.

As for Emmaus, Cari believes that the system used by the East Penn School District has been a success and has limited the disruption for his team.

“There has been a lot to get used to and it’s been a little weird coaching through a mask, but the plan that was put in place has been really good,” said Cari. “I think that the whole staff and all of the players feel safe in this environment and believe we’re protected as best as possible.

“Now we have to just focus on the games and doing what we need to do to win. We don’t ever look for excuses and we really don’t have any. Everything has gone pretty well, at least as well as it possibly could, and we feel like we’re ready for the season.”