The way the Parkland boys' lacrosse team responded late during last week's contest against Emmaus certainly said a lot about the program.

Down 5-3 for over half of the final period, an apparent leg injury to junior Jon Warg left the Trojans without one of their top defenders for the final 6:14 of regulation.

But that didn't stop Parkland from clawing back into the game. In fact, the stoppage seemed to have sparked the inconsistent Trojans in a big way.

The Trojans went on to score three straight goals, including one from senior attacker Dylan Klusaritz just 56 seconds after Warg's injury, to lead by a goal with 1:30 to play. A late goal from Emmaus's Collin Tucker tied it back up, but after winning the overtime faceoff, senior midfielder Josh Pope found junior midfielder Ethan Howell for the game-winning goal 1:36 into the extra session, giving the Trojans (4-1 overall; 1-0 in LVC) the 7-6 victory last Wednesday night at Emmaus's Memorial Field.

"He tore his ACL once," Howell said. "And once we saw that, the game was for him and for Pope's mom.

"It sparked us a lot. We just got the momentum, and we knew we had this game. After the first half they were up, but we just got all the shots and all the stuff was going in. I couldn't ask for better teammates than everyone on this team."

During a Trojan timeout with 12 seconds gone in overtime, head coach Brad Schifko prepared a play for Howell to come off the crease and be in position to receive the ball. It worked to perfection, as Howell took Pope's pass after cutting through the Hornets' defense and fired a shot into the back of the net.

"Coach drew up a really good play for Pope," Howell said. "We knew they were going to slide early. I was right up on the crease and I let it rip."

After Klusartiz brought the Trojans back to within a goal with 5:18 to play, the rest of the Parkland scoring attack followed suit. Just 23 seconds later, Pope slashed through the Hornets' defense and ripped a low shot under Emmaus goalkeeper Matt Horton's legs that tied it at 5-5.

Junior midfielder Stephen Chenworth tallied his second goal of the game with 1:30 to play, giving the Trojans their first lead at 6-5 since it was 2-1 early in the second period.

"We had a hard day of shooting, but we're just going to get better and better each day," Howell said. "We're going to see these guys more in districts and LVCs."

The Trojans opened the game with the first goal, but the Hornets would respond with an answer on two separate occasions.

Chenworth made it 1-0 after just 2:37 of play, but Peter Conway tied it up for Emmaus not even three minutes later. The 1-1 tie would hold into the second period when sophomore midfielder Zach Getchius found Klusaritz for the score. Conway, however, scored his second of three goals 2:57 later and added his third 3:13 after that to give the Hornets their first lead.

"They're a great team, they really are," Howell said. "They're a well-coached team. We just knew we had to bury it. The loss on Saturday [at Wilson West Lawn] hurt us a lot. We just had to get focused."

A 12-9 win over Minisink Valley on Saturday gave the Trojans their second straight win.

Up next is a matchup against Freedom on Friday. Game time is slated for 4 p.m. at Orefield Middle School.