It wasn’t the typical dominating performance that fans are used to seeing from Emmaus field hockey teams, but for the 37th straight time the outcome of the District 11 final had Emmaus’ captains hoisting the district championship trophy.

Parkland gave the Hornets one of the toughest district battles they have faced over the years, but in the end, it was Emmaus that won the day with a 1-0 score on the scoreboard at Salisbury High School on Saturday.

Emmaus (23-1-0) got off to a slow start, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

Parkland (17-6-0) was the aggressor early on. Slowly, Emmaus started to put more and more pressure on the Parkland defense and by halftime neither team scored.

In the second half, it was the experience of Emmaus that may have helped turn the tide.

On what was just its second corner of the game, Maddie Lenig sent the insert pass to senior Morgann Orobono, who noticed that Sharlise Solano was nearby.

A quick flick of her wrists sent the ball to Solano, who didn’t miss the opportunity and put the ball low and on the mark past goalie Audrina Stewart.

“Our coaches always tell us that when we’re in the circle, try to get something out of it,” said Salano, who scored her second goal of the season Saturday. “Try to get a shot, even if it’s a corner. We knew that there was a lot on the line and we just had to stay composed.”

The final numbers look nothing like a typical Emmaus field hockey game.

The Hornets outshot the Lady Trojans just 10-7 and the two teams both had just three penalty corners in the game. Emmaus’ Emily Romano was spectacular in goal, making seven saves to keep Parkland off the scoreboard.

“We’ve been doing a lot to execute our corners really well,” said Orobono. “That’s all we’ve been practicing on. We always want our corners to be perfect, and Sharlise’s touch was just perfect.”

Hornet head coach Sue Butz-Stavin, the architect of the long streak of district championships, didn’t deliver a fiery speech or deliver any particular words of wisdom at halftime. Instead, she used her evaluation of the first half and moved some players around.

“It was about certain areas that we wanted to execute,” said Butz-Stavin. “We moved some players around and made some adjustments. We also know that certain players on Parkland are more of a threat than others. We wanted to get a corner to capitalize on, and we happened to do that.”

“Of course,” said Salano, “as seniors, we want to try to make it to the very end. We want to be able to lead our team so that we can get far. It is a lot of pressure (carrying on the district streak), but I think we can help and lift our underclassmen. It’s very relieving. It’s another district championship.”

The two schools have long had a rivalry, but the battle between field hockey teams is becoming more hotly contested.

Their only other meeting in 2025 was in Emmaus’ penultimate game of the regular season when it downed Parkland 2-1.

The one-goal victory showed one of the reasons why Emmaus has again been dominating this season, since it gave Parkland the distinction of being the first local team to hold a lead against Emmaus when it went up 1-0. Parkland and Northampton were the only local teams to even score a goal against the Hornets in 2025.

Both teams already had a spot in the PIAA tournament locked up. The Hornets host Garnet Valley (16-7-0), the sixth place team from District 1 at Memorial Field while at the other end of Cedar Crest Boulevard, Parkland will host Methacton (17-3-2), the third place team from District 1 in the opening round of states.