There was a sour taste in the mouths of Parkland boys lacrosse players and they wanted to get it out after one of the program’s worst losses in recent memory, a 14-1 loss to Central Catholic 14-1 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinal round.

The Trojans had to wait 15 days, but they were able to get back on the right end of things, taking down Nazareth 6-3 last Tuesday evening in the District 11 Class 3A semifinals at Parkland High School.

Parkland is back in the district final, a place it has been for the last three years, winning championships in 2017 and 2018. The opponent is a familiar one, rival and top seed Emmaus, the defending district champions from 2019. The two teams met in the regular season on May 5, an 11-6 victory in favor of the Trojans (12-3 overall).

“We are 12-3 right now and we are looking forward to our next opponent,” said Parkland head coach Mike Bender. “We had a great week of practice last week and the hard work paid off. We knew we were better than the last time we took the field, we just had to work harder, and they did that tonight.”

Just like during the season, the Blue Eagles (9-8) played the Trojans tough. Nazareth gave Parkland its first loss of the season, 6-5 in the season opener, but the Trojans were able to amass some revenge. Bender knows that this time of year, anything can happen and every team is revved up to play.

“Districts has always been the winner gets another day and the loser goes home,” Bender said. “Nazareth played us hard two different times this year. Our senior class remains resilient and did not want their season to come to an end tonight.”

Matt Geroulo scored the game’s opening goal early in the first quarter and Parkland never trailed from that point on. The Trojans ended the first quarter leading 2-0 and then took a 3-0 advantage early in the second before Nazareth got one back before halftime.

The Blue Eagles cut their deficit to just one in the third quarter before Will Filipovits searched for a pass but then decided to let one rip and found the back of the net with a little under one minute to go in the third. Parkland went up 4-2 and held on for the win.

“Our coaching staff continues to make adjustments each and every game to make sure we are putting the players in positions to be successful,” said Bender. “We are fortune to rely on a combination of players throughout the game.”

Parkland and Emmaus will once again meet for the district championship. Like every other spring sport, it is a welcome sight after losing the entire season last year.

“With no season last year, I’m excited for this group to have an opportunity to compete for a championship,” Bender said. “Our team will need to be ready to compete for a full 48 minutes.”