The East Penn Conference field hockey tournament gets underway on Tuesday and Liberty squeaked into the tournament as the eighth seed.

The Hurricanes (7-10-1) have struggled since midseason, losing seven of their final eight regular season games, including a 2-1 loss to Freedom in their conference finale.

Now they have the daunting task of taking on top-seeded Emmaus (17-1) in the league playoffs, which rarely goes well for anyone.

Still, head coach Jill Dorn is taking the approach of having her team focus on what they can control going against one of the nation’s premier programs.

“Throughout the course of these past few practices we go back to our film and highlight the positives that allowed us to possess the ball and not overcommit to Emmaus, drawing us out to create numbers on an attack,” said Dorn. “Our team stayed patient during the times we needed to stay patient, however this time, the approach of remaining patient will not be the only way we prepare.”

The Hornets defeated Liberty 10-0 in their regular season meeting on Sep. 28, but the Hurricanes have been a different team since losing center forward Ellis Corr to injury.

“A huge part of us hitting our stride this season came around game seven, where we conceptualized how everyone’s position would contribute to be successful,” said Dorn. “By the time we played Emmaus, we lost Ellis. Wherein we have been able to shift and move from losing a player to injury, there has been a definitive difference in the spark that Ellis contributed to how we play.

Preparing for Emmaus is about personal gains as players, as well as overall strengthening of decision-making for players who do wish to play at a higher level. By the end of the season, it’s a great challenge for athletes to know that with time, effort, and preparation, there are ways to succeed that transcend scoreboard results as well.”

Freedom (8-9-1) fell a game short of the league tournament and might be on the outside looking in of districts as well, despite picking up wins over Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic in their final regular season games.

Teams need to finish .500 or better overall or in league play to qualify for the postseason. Half of the field in each respective class also needs to qualify to form a bracket, but with 10 teams in 6A, seven have already clinched spots, leaving the Pates as an odd man out, despite having a higher power rating than Liberty.