Coming out of the first game against Emmaus, the Parkland High School field hockey team felt good. The Trojans disappointed about suffering their first loss of the season, but they knew they could make the proper adjustments to better hang with the defending District 11 champions after falling 8-1 on October 20.

But once again Emmaus got the better of the Trojans, netting three goals in each half to come out on top 6-0 last Friday afternoon at Parkland High School in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season finale.

“I feel the second time we played them we played complacent and defensive,” said Parkland head coach Julie Bisci. “We did our best to keep them out of our circle, but failed to transition offensively until the fourth quarter. If we get the opportunity to play Emmaus again, I would like to combine the consistency of Friday with the effort from [the previous] Tuesday and I believe we would find success.”

The Green Hornets (10-0 overall, 8-0 EPC) finished the season undefeated. Senior Annika Herbine tallied a hat trick on the attack for Emmaus. She broke through twice in a 6:52 span in the opening quarter to stake Emmaus to a 2-0 lead. Madison Bruns and Alexis Kociban both added goals in the second and third quarters, respectively. Herbine and Abby Burnett capped the Emmaus scoring with two goals in the fourth.

Under a new head coach, parkland players have had to adjust and learn a new system with different roles on the field. Bisci sees that happening with her team at the right time.

“Throughout our competitive games with Nazareth and Emmaus, some of our players have really fallen into their roles in their new positions in the lineup,” Bisci said. “I hope to see continued growth and success during the post season. I want my players to be confident in their abilities and walk out on the field with a winning mentality.”

Parkland’s Tess Garchinsky finished the game with nine saves in front of the cage.

The Trojans earned the four seed in this week’s District 11 3A Tournament. They will host the fifth seed, Stroudsburg, Thursday at 6 p.m. at Parkland High School. The Trojans look to make another deep run in districts, just as they did last year when they advanced to the championship game.

“I’m excited to see how excited the players are to begin postseason,” said Bisci. “They are motivated and ready to find success against Stroudsburg and whatever teams we see moving forward. They are not ready for the season to be over and look to continue it as long as possible.”