It seemed a bit like déjà vu.
Following the girls district final that went into double overtime between the same two programs, the game between the Emmaus and Parkland boys soccer teams followed suit as 80 minutes of regulation and 15 more in the first overtime was not enough to decide it.
A Joshua Daniels goal with 8:04 left in the second overtime propelled the top-seeded Trojans to a 1-0 win over the third-seeded Green Hornets in the District 11 4A championship game last Thursday night at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
Emmaus (17-4-1 overall) was looking for the winner. The Hornets sent nearly every player forward for a corner kick in their offensive end. After the ball was sent in toward goal, it took a couple of deflections before it was sent out of the zone to the foot of Daniels, who passed to teammate Logan Thrash up field, who then passed it back to a cutting Daniels, who finished off a shot to send Parkland (22-1) to the district title.
“They sent the house,” said Daniels. “I was expecting some defenders. I saw none. Really, fatigue went out the window, jets kicked in. I worked my whole life for this. That might’ve been the biggest finish of my life. It’s going through my head, to take a deep breath, stay calm and composed, slot it into the corner.”
The Green Hornets had their chances early on before the game even went into any overtimes. They had a ball played in to the penalty area where it was headed in for a goal. Unfortunately, it was called back for offsides and disallowed.
Both teams, actually, had chances to prevent the game from going to the second overtime as well. The Hornets came close to completing a counterattack of their own in the final seconds of regulation and Parkland junior Sam Masenheimer was denied by the crossbar on a free kick six minutes into the first overtime.
The defeat snaps a three-year streak of district championships for Emmaus. And with the new guideline from the PIAA, only one team from District 11 qualifies for the state tournament. Parkland has now won both postseason tournaments, also claiming the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship. It was a welcoming sight for them after losing in both title games last year to Freedom (EPC) and then Emmaus (D11).
“Obviously, the revenge tour went great this year,” said Daniels. “Some of these boys have never gotten the ‘ship in their life, and this year, it’s something special for their senior year.”
Matt Link finished with four saves in goal for the Trojans.
Parkland won its PIAA First Round game on penalty kicks, making four compared to three by District 1’s five seed, Central Bucks East last Tuesday night at Parkland High School. The Trojans will now take on District 12’s one seed Father Judge on Saturday in the quarterfinal round.