Emmaus was hoping the third time was a charm in the girls soccer District 11 title game. Parkland was hoping to pull off a three-game sweep of its top rival.
In the third meeting this year between the two programs, the third-seeded Green Hornets broke a 0-0 deadlock with a little over 15 minutes to play, but the top seed Trojans tied it up via the foot of Sejal Wellington with just over six minutes remaining and then Hailey Sammarco scored the game-winner in double overtime to win the District 11 4A championship 2-1 last Thursday night at J. Birney Crum stadium.
It was the second championship game in a span of two weeks that the two teams went to overtime and where the outcome was decided by just one goal. The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference final was a 1-0 Parkland win in overtime.
“It definitely became harder as it went on,” Sammarco said. “They knew how we played. We knew how they played. It was more even. I think it came down to who wanted it more. We knew we had a lot behind us, this could’ve been the last game of the season. There’s 13 of us seniors, it means everything to us. It was all playing for each other so we can move on.”
It was the third consecutive district title for the Trojans and seventh in the last eight years.
Kamryn McWhinney put Emmaus into the score column. It started with a little defense as she won the ball back into possession and then took a couple dribbles and ripped a shot that went passed the outstretched arms of Kayla McNevin, who had three saves for the Trojans.
“We’ve only been down twice all year so this was the third time, but their perseverance to plug away, it’s a prideful thing,” said Parkland head coach Al Haddad. “Emmaus challenged their pride a little bit and it burns down inside them. [Emmaus goal keeper] Ashley Stine played an absolutely phenomenal game, so did Kayla [McNevin]. That ball curled away from their goalie from the moment Sejal kicked it.”
But about nine minutes later, Parkland equalized in similar fashion as Wellington drilled a long effort that beat Stine, who finished with five saves for the Green Hornets.
Hailey Sammarco then found the back of the net off a corner kick in a crowded penalty area with just 3:53 left in the second overtime to send Parkland out as a winner.
“Cat [Crampton] obviously got the header on the corner kick,” Sammarco said. “It was a good header. It was well placed, but they had defenders right in the box on the goal line so I kind of just ran through a defender. I don’t know which one of us finished it. It was right there. It had to go in somehow.”
Parkland lost to Central Bucks West 2-1 in a PIAA First Round game on Tuesday.