The Emmaus boys soccer team had to endure two yellow cards within the first 10 minutes of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference finals, but it was able to walk away with a 2-1 win over Liberty and the inaugural EPC gold medals around their necks.

Goals by Parker Landis and Greg Lind and one of the more acrobatic saves you could ever expect to see from a goalkeeper were the key components in the win.

Landis scored the game's first goal on a penalty kick, with 35:07 left in the first half as Emmaus grabbed an early lead. Within the next five minutes though, Landis would collect a yellow card for aggressive play and Lind collected a yellow card for arguing with the referee. With both players off the field, Emmaus staved off Liberty's offense.

The Hurricanes did miss an opportunity with 16:45 left in the first half when they put a shot on goal that went off the crossbar and bounded over the net. Three minutes later, Emmaus almost took a 2-0 lead when Ryan Paradise had a shot go just wide left of the net.

Liberty came out with much more aggressiveness in the second half and tied the game with 38:36 left when Talhal Netherlin scored. From there, the two teams shared the momentum, until junior Cory Ross took a pass from Kyle Jaeger in front of the net and fired a perfect shot past goalie Tony Silva for what would be the game-winning goal with 12:43 left to play.

About two minutes later, Emmaus goalkeeper Ethan Lang made an acrobatic save that even Liberty coach Jason Horvath had to admit was a brilliant effort. Lang dove wildly on a shot by Trevor Koski to preserve the Hornets 2-1 lead, which would stand up and give Emmaus the conference championship.

"We've exceeded my expectations," said Emmaus head coach John Cari. "Because we had a lot to replace, especially on the defensive line. The only one we brought back was Ryan Paradise in that back and they've done a tremendous job, so we've exceeded expectations. It doesn't mean anything's over yet. We still have a goal to be a district champion and we're going to really focus to get ourselves there."

Ross isn't one of the more prolific goal scorers for the team, but has come up big in key moments, including a game against Parkland last year in the district playoffs when Cari thought he turned in one of the better performances of any of the players on the field.

"Cory last year as a sophomore, he got playing time late in the year last year and had some really big games," said Cari. "He found a way tonight to just get in the right place at the right time. He's a great kid with a great work ethic, I'm really proud of him."

Prior to the game, the EPC unveiled its inaugural all-conference team. Paradise, Landis and John Fritz, who topped the 30-goal mark this season, were all named to the EPC first team, with Fritz being named the conference MVP. It's the third straight season that an Emmaus player has captured the conference MVP award, with AJ Bishop taking the honor in 2012 and Justus Faulkner winning the trophy last season.

After the game, Fritz was proud of both being named the conference MVP and of his team's gold medal, but he had a definite preference in which one meant more.

"Definitely, the team one," said Fritz with a wide grin. "It's all about the team in the end."

According to Cari, Fritz is the first District 11 Class AAA player to top 30 goals in a season since Parkland's Al DiCarlo back in the mid-1990s.

After the game, Fritz was proud of both being named the conference MVP and of his team's gold medal, but he had a definite preference in which one meant more.

Emmaus now enters the District 11 playoffs as the top seed and will have a rematch with an EPC Tournament opponent in its first round game.

The Hornets play the winner of the game between Easton and Liberty. The quarter-final match-up will be Friday afternoon at Memorial Field.