The result is the same as it has been for a long time, but this one hit a little different for Parkland field hockey coach Julie Nelson.
Nelson’s Trojans once again lost to Emmaus — this time by a 1-0 count in the District 11 Class 3A championship game Saturday morning at Salisbury High School. But if it feels like Parkland is closing the gap on Emmaus, it’s because — for now — the Trojans are doing just that.
“I don’t know if (losing) 1-0 is harder or 6-0 is harder, but I’m very proud of [my players],” Nelson said. “I think that this is the team that will beat Emmaus. I’m very proud of that and I hope that [the players] will feel that way. I don’t think 1-0 depicts what this game was like. We outplayed them for a larger portion of it. I’m very proud of them. I just wish the score was different.”
The gold medal that Emmaus (23-1) earned is its 37th in a row, dating back to the first one in 1989. The Green Hornets will play District 1 No. 6 seed Garnet Valley in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A tournament on Tuesday. The Trojans (17-6) will go in as District 11’s second seed and face District 1 No. 3 Methacton.
The Green Hornets and Trojans were tied 0-0 at the half as Parkland had a slight advantage in penetration time.
Both coaches made their halftime adjustments. Emmaus returned to the field with more energy than it had in the first half, and it led to a goal on a penalty corner, from Madi Lenig to Morgann Orobono to Sharlise Solano, who slipped it past Parkland keeper Audrina Stewart with six minutes left in the third.
Hornets keeper Emily Romano was perfect on seven save chances, while Stewart allowed only that one goal in five attempts.
“We’ve been doing a lot to execute our corners really well,” Orobono said. “That’s all we’ve been practicing on. We always want our corners to be perfect. Sharlise’s touch was just perfect.”
“[The goal] was really important,” Solano said. “When we’re in the circle, our coaches always tell us to try to get a shot out of it. We knew there was a slot on the line and had to stay composed.”
Parkland made it difficult for Emmaus to stay composed. The Trojans nearly matched the Hornets in shots (10-7), and Maya Melnick and Leah Frew led a defense in front of Stewart that kept the normally high-powered Hornets to only 10 shots and one goal.
“Parkland is a very high-energy team, so we know that it’s going to be a mental game and we have to stay composed and play our best,” Solano said. “We knew that there was a lot on the line. The coaches just told us to play our game.”
Emmaus coach Sue Butz-Stavin said the halftime adjustment was about player positioning.
“It was about certain areas that we wanted to execute,” she said. “We moved some players around and made some adjustments. We also know that certain players on Parkland are more of a threat than others. We wanted to get a corner to capitalize on, and we happened to do that. It was a struggle to get corners and shots in the first half.”
Solano said that winning No. 37 in a row came down to leadership.
“Of course, as seniors, we want to try to make it to the very end,” she said. “We want to be able to lead our team so that we can get far. It is a lot of pressure, but I think we can help and lift our underclassmen. It’s very relieving. It’s another district championship.”
Orobono has won medals before. They’re all good.
“It’s always special,” she said. “This is such a good team.”
Parkland 0 0 0 0 — 0Emmaus 0 0 1 0 — 1
Parkland shots: 7. Penalty corners: 3. Saves: Audrina Stewart 9.Emmaus goal: Sharlise Solano. Assist: Morgann Orobono. Shots: 10. Penalty corners: 3. Saves: Emily Romano 7.
Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.
