The Emmaus High School boys soccer team needed a bounce-back win. The Green Hornets dropped their first game against rival Parkland, 2-0, on the road and had one more game left in the season, another matchup against the Trojans. Last Thursday night, Emmaus amassed some revenge as junior forward Hudson Peck delivered the game’s lone goal early in the second half to stake the Green Hornets to a 1-0 victory at Memorial Field in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference regular season finale.

With the win, Emmaus (10-1 overall, 9-1 EPC) claimed the EPC Skyline Division and the top overall seed in this week’s District 11 Class 4A Tournament.

“After the first loss to Parkland, we really had to do some thinking on what kind of team we were going to be,” said Peck. “Obviously, winning the division was great, especially against our rival, but our goal still remains the same, which is to win districts and states. Winning against Parkland ultimately showed us that we are ready to fight in the postseason, especially after dealing with adversity for the first time this year.”

After being shutout for the first time all season and having their nine-game win streak snapped last week against the Trojans (8-2, 8-2), it looked as if the Green Hornets were once again going to be held scoreless. Following a first half that saw neither team find the back of the net, Emmaus had a player taken down inside the 18-yard box, drawing a penalty. Peck stepped up and slotted his penalty shot home for what proved to be the game-winner.

“It meant a lot to me,” Peck said. “Going into this year, our team lost a number of key offensive players, and I knew I had to step up and fill that role. So it felt very satisfying to be able to contribute to a team win like that. After taking some penalties already this season, I knew what to expect and I didn’t feel any nerves or stress.”

After the loss three days earlier, head coach John Cari said that his team didn’t bring the energy as much as the Trojans did. But Thursday night was a different story on the Hornets home turf.

“In the first game against them, our main problem was that we were outworked,” said Peck. “I believe that’s what frustrated our team as a whole the most. Going into this game, we knew that we had to get locked in and get in the right mindset in order to get a result.”

Emmaus outshot Parkland 9-8 overall, but were outshot 4-3 on goal. Max McGrath finished with four saves for the Green Hornets.

Emmaus will play in the district quarterfinals Saturday at Memorial Field. They’ll take on the winner of a pigtail game between Northampton and Whitehall.