Emmaus High School Boys Soccer

After 3 consecutive losses, the Hornets dropped out of the PA top ten but had an Honorable Mention in the PA Soccer Coaches Association Poll.

The Hornets are in second place in the EPC Skyline division, and are in a 3-way tie for second best overall conference record. http://epc18.org/standings

The Hornets remain at the top of the District XI AAAA power rankings. http://districtxi.gimpsoftware.com/Soccer%20-%20BoysXIRanking.html

2019 Season Statistics can be viewed on the following document.

The Emmaus Boys Soccer Team returned to its winning ways, beating Whitehall 5-1 at home on Saturday October 6. With 5 of 7 Hornet seniors on the bench with injury, the underclassmen rose to the occasion. Junior Marco Silva opened the scoring for the Hornets early in the first half, dribbling unchallenged from midfield to the top of the box and finding a narrow opening between two defenders to send the ball into the far side of the goal. Midway through the first half, senior Jake Groh touched a through ball to a crashing Silva on the left side of the box. Silva crossed the ball toward the far post where junior forward Nate Romig knocked in the goal to up the Hornets lead to 2-0. Back and forth, both Whitehall and Emmaus threatened throughout the first half and junior keeper Chris Buck made several saves to preserve the Hornets’ lead. With 50 seconds to play, Whitehall had a free kick from the top left of the box and was able to score with a header to bring the score to 2-1 at halftime. Early in the second half, junior midfielder Pat Walsh gave the ball to Groh at midfield and was on the receiving end of a give-and-go to dribble to the corner. Walsh crossed the ball, Silva dashed over the ball to draw the defense, but left it through to Groh in the middle of the box to direct it low into the far side of the goal for a 3-1 lead. Groh converted a penalty kick after he was brought down in the box with 10 minutes to play. A minute later, Groh scored his third goal of the day after senior AJ Febbraro, trying his casted hand at defense, sent a ball from the backfield that snuck past a defender to find Groh in stride at the top of the box. Groh juked a retreating defender, and sent in the shot below the keeper’s reach for a 5-1 final. Emmaus’ record improves to 14-3-0 overall, and 12-3-0 in conference.

The Hornet JV continued to win, downing the Zephyr JV 3-0. Sophomore Brian Flor scored all 3 goals for the Hornets, upping his team-leading total to 18 goals on the season before contributing significant minutes in the varsity win later in the day. This marks the 12th consecutive game the Hornets have not allowed a goal and the 10th consecutive win. The JV record improves to 13-2-2 overall, and 13-1-1 in EPC play.

2019 Season Statistics can be viewed on the following document.

The Emmaus Boys Soccer Team suffered a third consecutive loss, 2-1 at home on Senior Night, to a motivated 4-9 Nazareth squad. The other members of the EPC Skyline division seem to have solved the Hornets on the second pass through the schedule and injuries continue to take a toll on the Hornets. The Blue Eagles opened the scoring 4 minutes into the game, serving a corner kick that a Nazareth player headed to a teammate who one-touched the bouncing ball into goal from the far side of the box. As the Blue Eagles’ enthusiasm peaked, the Hornet defense faced several assaults in the first half. Senior Eric Johnson, whose energy seems boundless, occupied the defensive midfield to slow the attacks, and the defense largely stood tall. Late in the first half, however, Nazareth lofted a pass to the left of the box. Junior defender Alex Toto read the play and, running full-speed towards the goal to beat an oncoming attacker to the ball, attempted to head the ball out of danger. Unluckily, the ball deflected into the net to put Nazareth up 2-0. Toto, who has been a standout in moving from the midfield to fill a spot in the injury-riddled defense, kept Nazareth from an almost certain third goal early in the second half, hustling to the goal line to head away a chipped ball after junior keeper Chris Buck dove to save a skidding shot and lay sprawled in front of the goal. The Hornets had more success in the second half, changing from a 4-man back line to a 3-man back line. Midway through the half, junior midfielder Pat Walsh, in a crowd on a corner kick, found a high deflected ball and directed a soft header across the front of the goal to senior forward Jake Groh who hammered the ball from mid-air with a stunning bicycle kick to drive in the Hornets only goal of the night. Emmaus dominated possession in the second half and threatened several more times, hitting a ball into the crossbar and several hard shots right at the keeper, but was unable to find a tying goal. Emmaus season record is 13-3-0 overall, 11-3-0 in EPC play.

The Hornet JV continued a 10-game win streak, besting the Blue Eagle JV 4-0. Goal scorers included freshman Blaise Verrastro, sophomore Bryan Flor who scored twice, and freshman Ty Sommer. Flor leads the team with 15 goals this season and the JV defense has not allowed a goal in 11 consecutive games. The JV season record improves to 12-2-2 with a 12-1-1 EPC record.

The Hornets slid in the PA state rankings after facing their first loss of the season and are now ranked #3 for PA large schools in the September 29 Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association poll. Emmaus is ranked #7 in PA and #15 in the Mid-Atlantic Region by TopDrawerSoccer.com in a September 30 poll. The Hornets are ranked #7 in the PA/NJ region by USA Today / United Soccer Coaches in an October 1 poll. Emmaus fell out of the national top 50 and is expected to slip further in the polls after taking a loss at Parkland this week.

The Hornets are in second place in the EPC Skyline division, and have the second best overall conference record. http://epc18.org/standings

The Hornets sit at the top of the District XI AAAA power rankings. http://districtxi.gimpsoftware.com/Soccer%20-%20BoysXIRanking.html