The school year has just started, but the Emmaus girls soccer team opened the year with a test when it went up against District 1 power Council Rock North and battled the Indians to a 1-1 tie in regulation.

The Lady Hornets put themselves on the scoreboard quickly when freshman midfielder Reilly McGinnis scored her first varsity goal just 2:31 into the contest, with an assist from senior Alyssa Guthrie. McGinnis played all 80 minutes of the game and coach Rob Rooney was impressed with McGinnis' first varsity effort.

"I just wanted to do anything to help my team out," said McGinnis. "The defense was really good the whole game and we knew that we had to come out strong right away."

The fact that McGinnis has been able to come in and play right away is an accomplishment and Rooney believes that it can be tough both mentally and physically for a young player, but that McGinnis has handled it all very well.

"One of the things about freshmen playing any varsity sport at any level, but especially in soccer, they're U14, U15 players at the club level and they're essentially playing U19 soccer now, so it's a significant physical challenge," explained Rooney. "She played 80 minutes today, scored a goal and she was good through all 80 minutes. Her effort was fantastic; there's really nothing more we could ask for out of a freshman. I couldn't be happier with her effort."

McGinnis may be facing a difficult challenge, but she believes it's been made easier by having good players and plenty of support around her.

"I have a great support team," said McGinnis. "My sister (junior Shannon McGinnis) is on the team and we've been working together for as long as I can remember and it's always been a great experience."

Unfortunately for Emmaus, Council Rock North didn't stay down for very long. After regrouping, the Indians got a goal from Jessica Clark about 6:30 after the Lady Hornets had opened the scoring.

"It was our inability to clear a ball on a dead ball situation and it's something that we talked about at half-time and it's a mistake that won't happen again, hopefully," said Rooney.

Rooney was also quick to point out that senior goalkeeper Kay Gustafson played well in goal for the Hornets and believes she can handle even more pressure than the Indians were able to put on her. Gustafson came up big for Emmaus when Rock North was able to put on pressure and get off a strong shot with just 29 seconds remaining in the game and Gustafson made the save.

"Kay made every play she was supposed to, but she wasn't really tested," said Rooney. "We made one questionable decision in the back here in the first half and she did a good job to scramble and get to her feet to get to that ball. She was mistake-free and when you talk about goalkeepers, in my world, that's the highest praise you can give."

As far as being a season opening gauge, Rooney believes that Council Rock North provided a good test for his team and that it came through in good shape. The schedule has another test coming Thursday when Emmaus hosts Neshaminy and later this season, Emmaus makes a trip to Wilson West Lawn, another strong school for girls soccer.

The Hornets have a league game coming up Saturday morning when they host Dieruff.

"We're really happy," said Rooney. "I think our effort was first class.

"That Council Rock North team is a very good District 1 team and it's no secret that District 1 is the best girls soccer district in the state. That's why we go out of the area and we play Neshaminy and we play Council Rock North and Wilson West Lawn; that's why we play these games, to gauge where we are.

"A team like Rock North teaches us things about ourselves and they bring a battle-tested approach to the game that we don't always get to see.

"We're thrilled with how we played, we were toe-to-toe with them and I think we were a little bit the better team in the second half. It's one of those games where I believe a 1-1 draw was the right result, because these two teams were pretty even and it makes sense that the game ended 1-1."