If it's early November, then there must be gold medals from District 11 around the Emmaus field hockey players' necks. For the 24th straight year, Emmaus conquered the world of District 11 field hockey with a 5-1 win over Stroudsburg.

Sophomore Theresa Carotenuto scored two goals to lead the team as the Lady Hornets jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the first half and never looked back. The first goal went to Anna Kennedy on an assist from Carotenuto before the super-soph picked up her first goal of the game with 20:08 left in the half.

"She had a great offensive game. She went hard for the ball and through the process of the game, we moved the forwards around, which changes up the pace a little bit," said Sue Butz-Stavin, who has been at the helm of the team for all of the 24 straight district titles.

Emmaus didn't rest on its 2-0 halftime lead, coming out with another two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half as well, starting with Carotenuto's second goal of the night. Krissy Mikelson then followed up that goal less than five minutes later with her 31st goal of the season. Joanna Hawkins would add another Emmaus goal to make it 5-0 with just under 15-minutes left to play.

Stroudsburg continued to try to battle for a comeback, with Brittany Thornton getting their lone goal at the 12:06 mark. For the next couple of minutes, Stroudsburg rode some momentum and put pressure on goalie Makheila MacDonald, who relieved starter Tori Laczo in the second half.

MacDonald and the Emmaus defense was up to the challenge and regained their own offensive control to keep the Mounties from inching any closer.

"I have a good defense in front of me," said Laczo of her success this season. "Jess Unger had some key defensive saves for us tonight."

In addition to Unger, Laczo credited Lexi Roth and Ashley Moxey for their defensive play this season, which has made the goalkeeper's job a lot easier.

Both Emmaus and Stroudsburg will head into the PIAA tournament, but Emmaus will have the opportunity to stick closer to home, playing at the Zephyr Sports Complex in Whitehall, at least for the first round. The finals of the tournament will also be played in Whitehall, should the Hornets proceed that far.

Butz-Stavin was able to get all of her players into the mix, which she believes could play a role down the road.

"It leads to some confidence and gives the girls the chance to show what they can do," said Butz-Stavin. "It also helps with team morale."

Even though it's pretty much an annual occurrence, Butz-Stavin won't allow her players to rest on their laurels heading into the state tournament.

"It's always an honor to be going into the state tournament. We have to be prepared though because there's one section where three years in a row, we went out in the first round, so we've had some great teams that went out in the first round," said Butz-Stavin. "You have to be prepared to play, regardless of what particular district they're coming out of."