The Emmaus High School boys lacrosse team had beaten every District 11 team that was put on its schedule during the 2021 regular season. That included Allentown Central Catholic, which the Hornets beat 8-7 on April 27.

But the second time the two teams met in less than a month was a little bit different. The Vikings (17-1 overall) use their earlier loss, their only setback of the season, as motivation this time around, blitzing the Green Hornets (17-2) for 12 goals in a 12-4 victory in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship game last Thursday night at Northampton Area High School’s Al Erdosy stadium.

The second-seeded Vikings earned their first conference title since 2017, while the top-seeded Green Hornets are still looking for their first league title since 2012.

“They are a talented team and were ready for us tonight,” said head coach Stu Speicher. “They played with a lot of energy.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Emmaus actually was out in front early on. The Green Hornets scored the game’s opening two goals, with freshman Will Barber, who finished with two tallies, finding the back of the net just 40 seconds after the opening whistle. Emmaus then took a 2-0 lead less than two minutes later when Cade Speicher put a shot inside the cage.

“The boys were playing together, moving the ball around quickly, playing very unselfishly,” Speicher said. “We had great energy and were able to generate some offense early. But, I thought they made some adjustments to stop what we were doing.”

But Central closed out the first half with six consecutive goals to take control of the contest, leading 6-2 at halftime. They scored three goals in each of the four quarters and held Emmaus scoreless for over 25 minutes of game action.

Adam Monek scored the other goal for Emmaus. Zach Whalen recorded an assist. Ben Franco finished with 15 saves in goal.

“They’re very deserving conference champions,” Speicher said of Central Catholic. “They’re very athletic, very talented, they play fast and we knew it would be a challenge. But we’ll come back strong from this. I’m confident.”

Emmaus will be the top seed in the upcoming District 11 Class 3A tournament, which begins this week. With no district tournament last year due to the pandemic, the Green Hornets enter as the defending champions.