The Emmaus High School boys soccer team finished off the regular season with an 18-2-1 overall record and 14-2-1 mark in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, earning the three seed in the EPC Tournament.

One of those two defeats came at the hands of the top team, Parkland, 2-1 in the season finale on October 9. But the Green Hornets amassed some revenge in their latest matchup against the Trojans, coming out on top 3-1 last Saturday afternoon in the EPC championship game at Whitehall High School.

It’s the first conference title for Emmaus since 2020.

“It really meant something to the kids,” said Hornet head coach John Cari. “The fact that we haven’t won a league title since 2019 felt like they accomplished something. The first half was probably the best first half we played all year. I think it’s finally starting to come together. We’re getting some guys healthy and we’re hoping these are building blocks for the next two weeks throughout districts.”

So what was the difference between this game and the defeat they suffered against the Trojans at the end of the season?

“We knew we had to come out hard and press,” Cari said. “Limit our touches and believe. They were locked in the entire bus ride over to Whitehall. I knew we’d give our best effort just by sitting on that bus.”

Emmaus scored two goals in the first half from Callum Harvey and Kai Mattern to take a 2-0 lead at halftime. Parkland scored to cut the lead, but the Hornets got right back to a two-goal advantage in the second half on a goal by Mohamed Hassanali. Canyon Reinhardt finished with two assists. Parkland outshot Emmaus 11-10 overall and 7-6 on goal. The Hornets finished with six corner kicks, compared to four from the Trojans. Will Peck made six saves in goal. Parkland’s goal came from Lincoln Fritz on an assist by Talmage Pollard.

Emmaus beat No. 6 seed Allen in the EPC quarterfinals and took down No. 2 Freedom in the semifinals to earn a date with the top-seeded Trojans.

In the win over Allen last Tuesday, Oct. 15, Emmaus outshot the Canaries 19-7 but only managed to get one past goalie Martin Severo when Hassanali scored in the second half, on an assist from Benjamin Grossi, for the 1-0 win.

Peck made four saves in the win.

It was another second-half Hassanali goal that gave Emmaus a 1-0 win over Freedom last Thursday. The Hornets’ outshot the Patriots 6-5 in the tightly-contested match. Peck made three saves to earn the win.

Emmaus earned the top seed in the District 11 4A Tournament and will host either No. 8 seed Pocono Mountain East No. 9 Whitehall on Wednesday night at Memorial Field in a quarterfinal round matchup.