All things considered, it was an easy week for the Emmaus girls soccer team. The girls took out Northampton 2-0 and then pounded Allen 9-0 for two victories over the past week, putting the team at 8-5-2 overall and 7-4-1 in the Lehigh Valley Conference.

Kelsey Bacon continued her scoring prowess with two goals in the win over Allen. Against the Canaries, coach Rob Rooney was able to rest some of his regulars a little more than usual, giving opportunities to younger players. Besides some of the younger girls stepping up, senior Meghan Paradise has played well, picking up a goal in each game for the Hornets, her first two goals of the season.

Besides seniors Bacon and Paradise, Kay Gustafson (junior), Liz Waring (sophomore), Kristen Roth (freshman), Mandy McCarthy (junior), Sidney Wilson (junior) and Emily Pennell (sophomore) all put shots into the net in the scoring barrage against Allen.

The season is down to its final week and Emmaus has a home game with Dieruff before a season-ending showdown with Central Catholic, the winners of the LVC West Division.

"We're playing well right now," said Rooney. "All season long, I talked about us needing to do the things that we are doing now."

Looking back over the season, a 1-1 tie with Central Catholic could have been a key turning point for Emmaus had they walked away with a win rather than the tie. With the Vikettes at 11-3-2 coming into the final week of the season, the showdown with Central Catholic on Thursday would have been for the division title. Instead, Emmaus will miss the LVC playoffs and instead, prepare for the District 11 playoffs that begin on October 23.

It will be interesting to see how Emmaus responds in districts, with their new-found style of play that has seen the Lady Hornets outscore their opponents 31-4 in their last six games. In their six games before that, Emmaus had been the one getting pounded, with opponents outscoring them 16-3.

Junior Mandy McCarthy thinks the team will continue with their recent success through the district playoffs.

"I think we really believe in ourselves now and we keep getting better with each game, so I'm looking forward to the postseason," said McCarthy.