The Emmaus field hockey season came to a surprising end in a 4-0 loss to Palmyra in the semifinal round of the PIAA playoffs last week. The biggest part of the surprise wasn't that the Lady Hornets lost, but the margin. It was the first time all season that they allowed more than one goal in a game and just the second time that they failed to score, with the other being a 1-0 loss to Stroudsburg in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference final.

The Lady Cougars did all of their damage in the first half, with four different players - Alexis Smith, Kiley Gallagher, Amanda Fuschetti and Kylie Bombgardner - scoring goals.

The Palmyra team, like Emmaus, is young, with just four seniors on its roster and the youth showed early on. The Cougars also just made the jump from Class AA, making for an intimidating challenge to go up against Emmaus. The Hornets got an early shot on goal and then picked up another shot off a penalty corner, but were unable to get a shot past goalie Cheyenne Sprecher.

When Palmyra settled in, it was awarded five penalty corners that resulted in two goals, including the first goal of the game by Smith with just under 18 minutes left in the first half. Palmyra got another goal off of a corner.

Emmaus came out much stronger in the second half, but unlike its first two games in the state playoffs when it fell behind 1-0 early, the young team was unable to mount any comeback.

"I'm very pleased with our progress during the season," said Hornet head coach Sue Butz-Stavin. "The girls were energetic in practice skill sessions and continued to work on tactical and strategic approaches to the game."

The win put Palmyra (23-2) into the finals against Penn Manor and in a strange turn of events, the teams tied 1-1 after two overtimes and were declared co-champions.

It was just the second time in PIAA history that co-champions have been declared in field hockey. PIAA rules state that the game ends in a tie after two 15-minute overtimes and doesn't go into a penalty stroke phase.

The young team showed a lot of progress during the season and was able to reach a number of goals along the way.

"We always approach the season defining goals for the year," said Butz-Stavin. "Regular season, qualifying for the district tournament and playing in the district finals to participate in the state tournament and we set our sights to play for a conference championship. We worked down the golden road to success, taking one game at a time and being mentally ready to take on the next challenge."

Emmaus (24-2-1) will lose five seniors - Taylor Bednar, Tori Laczo, Tara Tracchio, Morgan Will and Erika Wilson - to graduation.

This year's roster also featured just four juniors and was one of the youngest teams in recent history for the program.

"Seniors were positive throughout the season and guided the underclassmen, passing on the traditions of the Emmaus field hockey program, there's lots of pride," said Butz-Stavin.