The Emmaus High School boys soccer team bounced back from a first-round loss in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs with a win in the first round of the District 11 Class 4A playoffs, which started last week.

Mohamed Hassanali led the offensive effort for No. 2 seed Emmaus with two goals, each coming in the first half to give his team a cushion over seventh-seeded Nazareth last Wednesday night at Memorial Field in a 5-0 win in the district quarterfinals.

Kai Mattern, Ryan Kiernan and Conner Powell also scored goals for the second-seeded Green Hornets. Callum Harvey and Elijah Miller contributed assists. Colin Wilson finished with two saves in net for Emmaus, which outshot Nazareth 15-4 overall and 10-2 on goal, while holding a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

“I was glad to get the offense moving, especially early in the game,” said Emmaus head coach John Cari. “Coming off a tough break, in a 0-0 game (lost in PK’s 5-4) with Whitehall where we dominated in shots, but just couldn’t get it in, the early goal allowed everyone to take a deep breath, relax and play their game. By doing this, the offense generated several good opportunities, resulting in five goals.”

Emmaus (17-2-1 overall) now will see a familiar foe in districts, just a round earlier than normal as it advanced to take on third-seeded Parkland in Tuesday’s semifinal round.

“We hope that the result and efforts can carry over into our semifinal matchup with Parkland on Tuesday,” Cari said. “Even though we won in the regular season, they will be ready for us, and the game should be close. We just hope we are at our best.”

The winner will get the winner of Northampton and Freedom in the final on Thursday night.

Cari, who is in his 19th season at the helm, has led the Hornets to the district championship game in each of the last 12 years, including winning the title six times (2011, 2015, 2016, 2019-2021) in that span. The last time the Hornets failed to reach the final was 2010 when they were the top seed by fell 1-0 in double overtime to five-seed Easton.