The Emmaus High School boys lacrosse team has been on a tear throughout its 2021 season. The Green Hornets won their first 11 games of the year against a variation of Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and nonconference opponents. But they finally met their match in their latest game, falling to Berks County power Wilson-West Lawn 5-2 last Monday evening.

Head coach Stu Speicher, even after the first defeat of the season, is still pleased with what his team has accomplished thus far and the way that it has played together.

“The team has been playing with confidence and displaying great trust in each other on the field,” said Speicher. “There’s been great communication and sharing of the ball and they are playing as one unit.”

Games, like the latest one with Wilson-West Lawn, will only help Emmaus grow and get better, playing against good competition, especially outside of the EPC.

“We’ve been approaching the season game-by-game, and have been fortunate that our administration worked hard to schedule competitive nonconference opponents for us,” Speicher said. “Games against programs such as Hershey, Crestwood and Wilson West Lawn have helped us improve as a team and hopefully be better prepared for our games against EPC opponents.”

There have been a number of contributors thus far this season both offensively and defensively according to Speicher, but there are some individual performances that he wanted to highlight that have helped the Green Hornets to an 11-1 start.

“The balanced offense is the result of players being unselfish and caring more about the final score than individual statistics,” said Speicher. “Connor Flok, Zack Younker, and Zach Whalen have been our leading scorers, but it’s rewarding to see many different names appearing in our boxscores.”

The Hornets’ schedule remains difficult and busy, including this week with games against Central Catholic and Easton, followed by up and coming Northwestern Lehigh in nonleague action next Monday. Speicher and his team is excited to be getting in to the thick of the schedule before postseason play.

“The team is excited to have the upcoming opportunity to compete against talented EPC teams this week,” Speicher said. “We’re hoping these games are a good measure of our improvement since the start of the season.”