It wasn't exactly the type of inspired performance that Emmaus field hockey fans have come to expect, but the one goal that Emmaus scored Saturday was enough for a 1-0 win over Nazareth and a trip to the District 11 semifinals, stretching its record to 20-1 on the season.

For a second, nobody was even quite sure that Teresa Carotenuto's goal had actually gone in, but as the players looked around, the ball was resting comfortably in the back of the cage and Emmaus had taken a 1-0 lead over the Blue Eagles in the quarterfinal round. Thanks to an Emmaus defense that barely allowed Nazareth to enter its side of the field, that lead was able to hold up.

"It would have been nice to have a little cushion," said coach Sue Butz-Stavin. "You always want to have a little cushion to take off something quirky that could go wrong, but Nazareth had a good scheme going."

Emmaus' rotation of Kiera Godusky, Joanna Hawkins, Ashley Moxey, Lexi Roth and Jess Unger make up the defense that has helped the Lady Green Hornets hold their opponents to just four goals all season. Goalkeepers Makheila MacDonald and Tori Laczo have a relatively easy job, since few offenses give enough of a challenge to even get off many shots, but when they do, both are up to the task. MacDonald, a junior, sees most of the time in goal, but Butz-Stavin isn't afraid to play Laczo, who even started the win over Nazareth.

Senior Jess Unger has been a mainstay on the Hornets defense and continuously blocked passes between Nazareth players in Saturday's win and turned the interceptions into offensive challenges with her ball handling and passing skills.

"Jess is a great attack player for us also, but you need someone who gets good reads on the opponents. And, she can be very dangerous with her speed coming out of the backfield," said Butz-Stavin.

For her part, Unger credits the hard work and the team unity for making the team so good and believes the defensive unit is one of the best around.

"We've played together for a long time. We play together from the day school ends on the grass and on the turf, so we basically know where everyone is going to be," said Unger.

"Your defense wins championships for you, so they need to gel and they need to know what each other's doing and thinking at all times," said Butz-Stavin.

Next up for Emmaus is Bangor, a team whose only regular season loss came against an undefeated Southern Lehigh team in a Colonial League matchup. The next time Bangor lost was in the Colonial League tournament when it dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Moravian Academy.

While Butz-Stavin admitted that she didn't know a whole lot about Bangor, she knows the solid reputation of the program and knows they've got a strong team that can't be taken lightly. She's also looking forward to playing against some new faces rather than playing another LVC team in the district semifinals.

"Sometimes, the kids get a little bit overconfident when they play a team that they've already beaten this year," Butz-Stavin said. "If we would have played Whitehall [who lost to Bangor in the quarterfinals], it would have been the third time this season that we played them, so it's nice to have a different opponent.

"Of course, at this time of year, it doesn't matter who you play, you have to win to move on and that's what it's all about."