As usual, late-season soccer in the East Penn Conference included a matchup between Emmaus and Parkland with both teams standing among the best in the league. This season, both teams came in unbeaten and looking to take the first game of a home-and-home series between the two teams.

Parkland drew first blood when Demi Olatillo put a shot just under the crossbar to give the Lady Trojans a 1-0 lead midway through the first half. The goal didn’t give Parkland the momentum it may have hoped for as Emmaus seemed undaunted by the goal and went right back to work looking to even up the score.

“We didn’t lose intensity,” said Emmaus head coach Sarah Oswald. “We were able to just go right back and play hard and our girls didn’t hang their heads.”

The teams both put pressure on the opposing goalkeeper at times in the second half.

One of those opportunities came when Mariana Aubele-Gonzalez fired a shot on goal that rebounded back onto the playing field coming perfectly to Zuzu Mohamed, who was able to place a shot past goalie Molly Lineberger to give Parkland a 2-0 edge.

Even being down by two goals didn’t seem to slow Emmaus’ intensity and Maddie Brzezinski, positioned at the right corner of the goal as a ball from Lindsey Aiken caromed to her and she headed the ball past Parkland goalie Teresa Gonzalez to cut it to a one-goal lead.

“Our girls were working so hard to get something and Maddie was positioned perfectly and made a nice play on that ball,” said Oswald. “That goal was big for us and really rejuvenated everybody.”

Emmaus (6-1-2 EPC; 7-1-2 overall) took over control of the play as it worked to tie the game. Parkland (9-0-0 EPC; 9-0-0 overall) seemed to be back on its heels for just a short time before it regrouped and started to put more pressure on Emmaus. Just five minutes after Brzezinski’s goal, Alex Marsteller took a pass from Ivy Dias and fired with the ball reaching the back of the net.

The goal not only put the Trojans up 3-1, but the late two-goal lead also seemed to diminish the intensity of the game and Parkland was able to ride out the clock to get the win.

“That was a tough goal,” Oswald said. “It’s difficult when you get momentum going and then just a few minutes later they get a goal and kind of put it out of reach.

“I’m proud of how our girls fought in the game and I don’t really believe that they’re a better team than we are, they just were able to get the goals tonight.”

The two teams meet again Thursday night in the regular season finale for both teams.

The two games will provide some measure of where the teams are heading into districts, which begin next week. Throughout much of the abbreviated season, the schedule for both teams didn’t challenge Emmaus or Parkland very much and there is no denying that the two teams are each other’s own best competition of the season.

The schedules were divided up so that EPC teams wouldn’t need to travel outside of their own county to play regular season games, limiting the potential exposure to COVID-19.

Each new division currently has one undefeated team with Parkland being unbeaten in the Lehigh County Division, Nazareth (9-0-0) in the Northampton County Division and Pocono Mountain East (8-0-0) in the Monroe County Division.

Neither Nazareth or Pocono Mountain East have played any nonleague games. Nazareth, in an inter-county game, finishes the season against Whitehall.

In District 11 rankings, Emmaus is currently seeded fourth while Parkland is at the top of the district standings.