The Emmaus High School boys lacrosse team is looking to right the ship in 2026 after an uncharacteristic sub-.500 season.

The Hornets finished 9-10 overall and 5-4 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, missing both the EPC and District 11 tournaments.

Emmaus has been near the top of the conference and district for the most part for over a decade, winning districts in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2021.

Head coach Justin Fuhrman believes he has the group this season to return to the program’s standard of winning.

“I believe the 2026 Emmaus Hornets have a very high ceiling and a low floor,” said Fuhrman. “Execution and focus on the fundamentals of the game will allow our great athletes to let their talent take over. If we allow sloppy play and unforced errors to enter into our game teams will be able to take advantage of that.

“Our players committed to the hard work in the offseason to make sure we end up closer to our ceiling than vice versa. Now it’s time to put it on the field and see what we have. We’re excited to compete against the great competition in the EPC and District 11.”

The Hornets graduated a talented trio last year in Kaleb Mains and Reilly Bechtel, who were both All-EPC First Teamers, along with Gabe Chies. But they bring back senior midfielder Jace Pilarski, junior midfielder Anthony Attar, junior defenders Reiken Bechtel and Brady McKechnie, sophomore attackers Dylan Maloney, Alex Younker and Greyson Schmidt and sophomore midfielder Sam Pechulis.

A couple of newcomers expected to contribute include freshmen defenders Max Weber and Brennan Poll, along with freshman goalie Liam Lewis.

“Our strengths going into the season are talent and lacrosse IQ,” said Fuhrman. “Our guys know the game and can play it. It’s about putting it together as one team and not making mistakes that limit our effectiveness. Our impact players are mostly back, getting a ton of valuable time as freshman/sophomores, but also made a lot of freshman/sophomore mistakes last season. Our goal is to limit those mistakes, especially the unforced ones, and execute at a higher level more consistently to be able to compete with the top teams in the league.”

Younker paces EHS in win over Beca

The team began play with wins in its first two Eastern Pennsylvania Conference games, but dropped a nonconference game to cap the first week of the season.

Emmaus opened the new season with a 13-2 victory over Bethlehem Catholic last Tuesday, March 17. The Hornets then took down Freedom 11-4 last Thursday. Two days later, Emmaus lost its first game to CB East, 15-5.

In the win over the Golden Hawks, Younker paced the offense with four goals. Colin Garrett and Pechulis finished with two goals each, and Attar, Maloney, Schmidt, Javien Mercado and Danny Santos had one goal apiece.

Schmidt contributed a team-high four assists. Maloney recorded three assists and Younker and Garrett each had one. Liam Lewis finished with six saves in net, while Alex Malitz added one. The Green Hornets held a 15-3 advantage in faceoffs won.

In the win against the Patriots, Younker, Garrett, Pechulis and Attar all found the back of the net twice, while Maloney, Schmidt and Mercado contributed one. Younker and Maloney dished out two assists and Schmidt added one. Lewis made six saves. Garrett won 12 faceoffs and Max Weber won three.

In the game with CB East, Younker and Garrett scored two goals and Maloney scored once. Younker, Maloney and Mercado contributed one assist each. Lewis finished with a season-high 10 saves.