It took a little bit of time for the Emmaus High School girls soccer team to get going, but by the second half they were rolling in their first-round District 11 playoff game last week,

The third-seeded Hornets scored three goals in the second half to defeat sixth-seeded Whitehall 3-0 Wednesday afternoon in a District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal round game at Memorial Field.

Gabby Powell broke the scoreless drought with 16 minutes remaining with a goal off an assist by Lizzy Bender and that was all her team would need to move on. Powell’s second goal of the contest came with six minutes to go and gave Emmaus (16-3-2 overall) some cushion. Bender was also credited with an assist on Powell’s second goal.

Powell then shared the wealth and assisted on her team’s third goal coming from Ella Scharper with under two minutes left.

The Hornet defense recorded its 14th shutout of the season. Senior goalie Ashley Stine was not forced into action and did not need to make a save. Emmaus outshot Whitehall 18-0 in shots on goal.

Emmaus advanced to the semifinals where it met the second seed Parkland Tuesday evening at J. Birney Crum Stadium. The winner will take on top seed Nazareth or the fourth seed Northampton in the championship game on Thursday night. The Hornets and Trojans met in the last game of the regular season with Parkland coming out on top 1-0 via a penalty kick goal.