For a team as good as the boys soccer team, Friday's 1-0 win over Whitehall didn't look very impressive.

It was good enough to keep the Hornets undefeated in the Lehigh Valley Conference at 5-0 and up their overall record to 5-1-1.

While the victory over the winless Zephyrs by just one goal won't be remembered as a strong win, Emmaus head coach John Cari found some positives to take out of the game.

"It was our worst performance, but good teams find a way to win and that's great," said Cari. "We've gone through the league and in five games, we haven't let a goal in, so that's a positive. We can take the positives. I told them 'if you focus on yourselves, we'll be fine.' But we do need to be sharper."

It's possible that the team was slightly worn down because it picked up two wins earlier in the week that were big wins over quality teams. They opened by downing Central Catholic 2-0 with goals by Parker Landis and Kevin Waterman. Landis then came back with a hat trick against Nazareth as the Hornets blanked the Blue Eagles 5-0.

Landis scored the Hornets' only goal in the win over Whitehall on a penalty kick early in the second-half. Landis now has seven goals on the season to lead the team and is two-for-two on penalty kicks. Five of his seven goals have come in his last three games, making him certifiably hot for the Emmaus offense.

"He's been outstanding," said Cari of his junior midfielder. "We knew his talent and we figured most people aren't aware of what the kid's capable of and he'll take the team and put them on his shoulders. He moves the ball well, he's a smart player and he's finding the goal. He's done a great job for us and I hope he gets recognized this year because he's done a really great job."

Landis has been getting help from his teammates lately and that's how he's been able to generate so much offense.

"I've been finding the ball more off the top and have been able to finish more," said Landis.

With one difficult week behind them, the Hornets now have an even tougher week ahead of them with games against conference rivals Parkland (6-2, 4-1) and Easton (5-2-1, 5-0-1) before making a trip Saturday to Wilson West Lawn, one of the perennially tough teams in Pennsylvania. The Bulldogs have opened the year 5-1-1 overall and are 3-0 in their league.

Landis believes that with his team having this past weekend off, they'll come back strong for their three games this week. He also knows that the Hornets going to have to play more focused than they did against Whitehall if they're going to keep winning against those teams.

"Those are going to be some hard games for us, but I think we definitely can win those games and come out winners at the end," said Landis.

After their win over Whitehall, Cari emphasized to his team that they needed to regroup and warned them that none of their games this week will be winnable if they don't play harder and smarter. One team that has impressed Cari this season is the Easton Red Rovers, who host the Hornets Thursday.

"Easton's playing with some confidence, they're undefeated in league play right now. It should be challenging and we're going there," said Cari. "They have a good fan base and they're on top of you, so it's a tough place to play."

While Cari realizes going to Easton is going to be tough, he's not as sure of what advantage his team will be able to garner when it hosts Parkland because the two teams have a long history and rivalry with each other.

"We'll take it one at a time," said Cari of the tough schedule. "Parkland is going to be a tough one. It's at our place, which is a positive, but it's such a rivalry game that a lot of times the school goes out the window when good teams play. We're looking forward to it, but we need to refocus."