The Emmaus Hornets field hockey team always has a target on its back and Northampton came into Memorial Field over the weekend taking aim at knocking off Emmaus in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Tournament.

The Konkrete Kids came up well off the mark as the Lady Hornets expanded on a 1-0 halftime lead to grab a 4-0 victory. The win put Emmaus into the semis and on the path to a potential showdown with top seed Stroudsburg in the finals.

Slow starts have been somewhat of a trend for the team this season and Saturday was no different. Northampton came out fired up and looked to contain sophomore Meredith Sholder, which it did until there was 14:31 left in the half. That's when Sholder was able to beat goalkeeper Shannon Dalton and give Emmaus a 1-0 edge.

"I wish we had started with just a tad more energy," said Emmaus head coach Sue-Butz Stavin. "I think at times we play very conservative, but I liked the way that we picked it up in the second half and we got some finishes in there. Northampton tried to take [Sholder] out and they kept a man on her, but it didn't really stifle us that much. It stifled her a little bit from finishing, but she was still able to draw corners and Tori [goalie Tori Laczo] only had to touch the ball a couple times, so overall, we did well."

Another sophomore, Maddy Dorn scored her 15th goal of the season halfway through the second half. Morgan Will and Alicia Cooperman completed the scoring later in the half.

Will, who will continue playing field hockey at James Madison University next fall, is part of a senior class that has enjoyed a lot of success at Emmaus. As a senior, she's been looked to for some leadership, especially after the team was hit hard by graduation, and she believes that this team might be stronger than ones that she's played on during her high school career.

"We had nine seniors leave, so that was a lot of holes to fill," said Will. "But I think that we get along better this year than in the past and when our game is on, we pass a lot better than we did last year. Everyone who plays against us is very intense and wants to beat us, because we're the best.

"Our energy level usually is lower than the other team, so that's something that we're working on, but it's always a pretty intense game when teams come in here."

Will was assisted on her goal by fellow senior Erika Wilson, who has emerged as one of those senior leaders that Butz-Stavin looks to for help in keeping the team strong.

"They have their moments," said Butz-Stavin of her five seniors. "It's getting better; you have to remind them about a couple of things, but they're good. Erika [Wilson] is kind of like the mother hen of the group and takes care of everybody."

Emmaus went undefeated this season, with the only blemish on their record being a tie with Parkland when the two teams met at Parkland High School earlier in the season. The only other undefeated team was Stroudsburg, who wasn't on Emmaus' regular season schedule. The Mounties and Hornets are expected to finally meet in the EPC finals.