Winning always feels good, but losing can light a fire under a team. After suffering their first loss of the season last week, Freedom’s boys’ lacrosse team responded with two straight wins to keep them atop the District 11 3A power rankings.

The Pates (11-1, 5-1) dropped a 12-5 encounter with Emmaus (8-3, 6-0) last week, dethroning them from the top of the East Penn Conference standings.

Alex Hume and Jake Ballerini both scored two goals apiece for Freedom in the loss.

However, wins against Easton [17-13] and Moravian Academy [18-4] got them back on track just in time for this week’s important stretch of games against Parkland (11-1, 6-0) and Nazareth (8-5, 3-2).

Emmaus and Parkland are the only two undefeated teams in the conference at this point of the season, so Tuesday’s showdown between the Patriots and Trojans would be an important meeting for the league’s conference playoff race.

Liberty (3-9) picked up two straight wins last week with a 14-2 win over Bethlehem Catholic, followed by an 8-6 win over Quakertown.

The ‘Canes can continue their momentum this week with a matchup against Saucon Valley (1-10) and then closing the week out against Northampton (7-6).