With two matches left to play heading into last week's meeting against Parkland, the Emmaus golf team still had goals of capturing the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season title.

One of the biggest hurdles standing in the Hornets' way was undefeated Parkland.

But much like last season's meeting, the Hornets were able to knock off the unbeaten Trojans to keep those league title aspirations alive. All five Emmaus scorers shot 83 or under, led by Patrick Bryan's 79, to defeat the Trojans 406-437 last Thursday at Brookside Country Club.

A win over Central Catholic on Wednesday at Allentown Municipal Golf Course would tie Emmaus and Parkland atop the regular season standings. The Vikings have one loss in the EPC as well.

"We have some work to do," head coach Mike Mihalik said. "We have a huge match next week. If we can beat Central, and go through the season and be tied for the lead, I would be very proud of this team because we did lose our No. 1, 2 and 3."

"We were hoping to win the league," Kevin Caverly, who shot an 83 against the Trojans, said. "We still have a chance if we beat Central, and then beat Parkland in a playoff."

Kelsey Patterson (80), Sam Fritzinger (81) and Max Harrington (83) rounded out the Hornets' top scorers.

Besides a few holes in the middle of the match, Caverly put together a strong showing on the course to help the Hornets secure their eighth win of the season.

"It actually started and ended well," Caverly said, "but the middle was rough."

Following one of their toughest losses of the season against Nazareth where their top five scorers shot a combined 423, the Hornets improved 17 shots against Parkland.

"We had been such a steady team, and it was just one of those days where too many players had their high round of the year," Mihalik said. "It just so happened to all fall on the same day. It's kind of contagious."

Mihalik was pleased with the way his team performed in a pressure situation like their match against the Trojans. While that may have not been the case against Nazareth just seven days earlier at the same location, Mihalik has seen many of his teams over the years rise to the occasion when the spotlight is on.

Last Thursday was a nice change of scenery after their only loss to the Blue Eagles.

"It's good to see when kids play well in big pressure situations like the Parkland match," Mihalik said. "I'm really happy for Pat [Bryan], but I'm also proud of how consistent we were today.

"You want to be that team that says it brings out the best in you, but it sure didn't last week. I think the Emmaus golf teams of the past always played their best under pressure. Today was a good step in the right direction."

Brian Cummings shot an 81 to lead the Trojans, while Alex Cwienkala (85) and Nick Kshatri (86) finished in their top three.