Second-half goals by Parker Landis and Kevin Waterman provided the offense Monday as Emmaus downed rival Central Catholic 2-0, upping its record to 3-1-1 overall on the season and 2-0 in the Lehigh Valley Conference.

The Vikings, thought to be the toughest division foe for Emmaus this season, are now 1-2 in the conference after losses to Allen and Emmaus.

The Hornets' only loss on the season came in a nonconference meeting with Downingtown West, who went to the state quarterfinals last season. The Whippets picked up a 2-0 win over Emmaus last Friday. The following day, Emmaus blasted Dieruff 12-0, taking out its frustrations for the early-season loss to Downingtown. Sophomore John Fritz led the way with three goals in the win over the Huskies and junior Phil Houseknect had two goals.

The win over Dieruff allowed many of the younger players to get time on the field, which could prove to be very important as Emmaus battles its way through the season. The team was hit hard by graduation, but younger players have stepped up and filled a lot of the holes on the team.

"Things are going pretty well," said senior Charlie Jerry. "Guys are filling in roles really well. We even have some young kids coming off the bench who are doing really well and giving us a lot of depth to our team. We have that one loss, but [Saturday] was a showing that we can score goals and keep a shutout."

Against Central Catholic, the two teams were scoreless at the half, but Emmaus was able to mount more pressure in the second-half. Landis' goal, his third of the season, came on a penalty kick.

Waterman got an assist from Jerry to give the Hornets their second goal and a little breathing room to get the win. Waterman's goal was his fourth of the season, giving him a goal in each of the games that Emmaus has scored at least one goal. Ethan Lang was in goal for the shutout win over the Vikings.

The win over Central Catholic provided the first big LVC test of the season for the Hornets. The next big showdown comes on Tuesday when Emmaus hosts Parkland (4-1, 2-1). In between, Emmaus plays road games at Nazareth (2-2, 2-1) and Whitehall (2-3, 0-3).

"I think we're definitely the strongest in the LVC," said Jerry. "Parkland will do well and Central just lost to Allen, but they're still good. I think that Central and Parkland will give us the most competition. I think we can be just as strong as last year. We're definitely going to give a strong run in LVC and district playoffs and, hopefully, win both of them."