Emmaus had some recovering to do, both mentally and physically, after a loss last week at Penn Manor.
“We used the game from Penn Manor as a learning lesson,” Emmaus Head Coach Sue Butz-Stavin said. “We had to look at the positives and then the negatives, improve the positives and then correct the negatives. We had to right the ship and work hard on the fundamentals.”
The Green Hornets did just that. After a 5-goal win against Nazareth earlier in the week, Emmaus made the trip down Route 100 to face District One power Downingtown West on a sunny Saturday in Chester County.
Everything may not be completely corrected to Butz-Stavin’s standards, but at least everything was improved. The Hornets left West’s Walter E. Kottmeyer Stadium with a 6-0 win – in a hurry, actually, as the players wanted to get home as soon as possible to get ready for a social event at the school later Saturday evening.
Now, it’s the Whippets’ turn to recover and adjust before their regular season winds down. The Whippets must face rival Downingtown East, Bishop Shanahan, Sun Valley, and Kennett before the District One Class 3A tournament begins.
Emmaus (16-1) is in the rough part of its schedule. The games against Penn Manor (District 3), Nazareth (District 11), and Downingtown West (District One) were against teams rated second or third in their respective districts.
Next up for the Hornets is the season finale against Lehigh County neighbor and Eastern Pennsylvania Conference rival Parkland. After that one on Tuesday, the EPC playoffs, then the District 11 playoffs, begin.
Emmaus won its 15th PIAA Class 3A title last year but lost 10 seniors and six starters from that team to graduation. West (12-2) had similar graduation losses from a state qualifier, but still entered Saturday unbeaten in the Ches-Mont League, although Saturday’s loss dropped the Whippets from second to third in District One 3A.
The game was close to even in terms of possession time, but Emmaus had one substantial advantage: penalty corners. The Hornets executed well on both ends, a domination which changed the tone of the game thoroughly.
Gracie Huffer and Sadie Nawarynski each scored two goals, while Addison Povilaitis scored one, mostly on corners. Emmaus midfielder Autumn Kernechel, an Ohio State commit, scored on a penalty stroke.
Emmaus had a 12-7 advantage in corners attempted. Kernechel now has 28 goals this season, Nawarynski has 26, Huffer 23, and Povilaitis 4.
Just as important was Emmaus’ improvement on defense. After allowing four goals in the loss to Penn Manor, junior goalkeeper Aiko Price had a clean sheet with 10 saves.
“The defense did a very nice job,” Butz-Stavin said. “They stayed on their marks, stayed in front of people, and executed tactics. It wasn’t perfect, but it was progress. Price was night and day from last week to this week.”
That type of improvement is what Downingtown West coach Courtney MacPherson is now hoping for before the postseason begins.
“We’ve been working on [corners],” MacPherson said. “We’re younger, especially in the defensive area. After the first quarter, it was an even match, regardless of the score. [Emmaus] just did a better job of converting the opportunities than we did.
“We practice corners a lot every practice. Corners are definitely a big priority of ours, but the effort was there. I am proud of them for that. I want them to play their best so that they can compete. That’s the only way they’re going to get better. I ask them for 100 percent (like it says on the back of the team t-shirts), no matter what the scoreboard says.”
Despite the score differential, Kernechel had praise for West. The game was much tougher than the score indicated.
“They’re (Downingtown West) a great team,” Kernechel said. “Their girls have a lot of skills. It was a good game for us to play a competitive team. A lot of the girls (from Emmaus) are stepping up really well. They’re doing a really good job.”
MacPherson had to move her star defender Scarlett Wood, a Michigan State commit, to the midfield, leaving the Whippets a little inexperienced in the back. Wood saw some value in meeting Emmaus at this point in the season.
“[The game] was tough,” Wood said. “Our energy just wasn’t there. We started flat, and in the fourth quarter, we were really feisty. We have to come out hard and aggressive in the first quarter instead of the fourth quarter.
“Overall, the season is going well. We have four new freshmen, and our team is very young. It’s great to see how far we’ve come. Playing a team like [Emmaus] is a great experience for our girls.”
Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.
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Photo: Rod Largoza
