Emmaus field hockey remain unbeaten after defeating Penn Manor 3-2
Emmaus fought all the way to the end of 60 minutes in regulation to hold on to their unbeaten record. Photo: Thomas McDonnell
As if defending her goal from a swarming and talented group of Penn Manor field hockey players for 60 minutes wasn’t enough for Emmaus goalkeeper Emily Romano, she had to do it a little longer Saturday morning.
Emmaus was up by one goal as time expired, but Penn Manor had to work through one penalty corner. And then another one, all with every available Penn Manor player pushing forward, hoping to get one past Romano.
In the end, though, after several extra anxious seconds, Romano and her Green Hornet teammates held on for a 3-2 win on their home field, keeping their record perfect at 14-0. The Comets fell to 10-2-1.
“It’s definitely not the easiest to stay calm … but the biggest thing is to make sure that I stay composed and my teammates have trust in me and everyone knows what they’re doing,” Romano said. “At that point, with the entire opposition pushing toward the goal, everyone is dangerous. So the most important thing is making sure I’m set and ready for a shot.”
Penn Manor defeated Emmaus last year. Both schools lost in the PIAA Class 3A state tournament to Villa Maria, Penn Manor in the first round and Emmaus in the semifinals. Emmaus leads the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference; Penn Manor is second behind Warwick in Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1.
Marissa Gigliotti gave Emmaus a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the game on an Ella Horner assist, but Penn Manor came back to tie it on Sophia Geiter’s goal. Madi Lenig assisted on a Morgann Orobono goal before the half for a 2-1 lead.
“We want to play games where they exploit our weaknesses, and we also want to see where our strengths are,” Emmaus coach Sue Butz-Stavin said. “So moving forward into postseason play, we’re ready for strong competition. It’s going to get more difficult as we move through October now.”
“It’s always good to see another Triple-A team that we might see later on in the postseason,” Penn Manor coach Rachel Suter said. “It helps us prepare. Even though we didn’t get the win today, it was a win in the sense that we learned, and we grew. We know what we need to work on moving forward.”
The game featured three Appalachian State commits -- Huffer and PM's Chloe and Morgan Hook.
Gracie Huffer scored her 16th goal of the season midway through the third to make it 3-1. That lead held until Chloe Hook's penalty stroke with about four minutes left. The game that featured speed, momentum shifts and six green cards came down to two last penalty corners after the buzzer.
“We just tried to stay positive and do our best,” Geiter said. “We were down two goals with five minutes left. We tried to get a goal in and it didn’t happen, sadly. But we will stay positive. It was a great game. … It was chaotic. There were a couple of good opportunities. We couldn’t capitalize on them.”
Romano said that Emmaus did remember last year’s loss in Millersville, but did not dwell on it because this is this year.
“Our defense is great. We practice all the time,” she said. “Morgann Orobono has my back all the time, so I know I’m safe with her. … We want revenge, but we know it wasn’t how we played last year. It’s who plays the best today.”
Penn Manor 1 0 0 1 -- 2
Emmaus 1 1 1 0 -- 3
Penn Manor goals: Sophia Geiter, Chloe Cook (stroke). Assists: Kelby Dings. Shots: 14. Penalty corners: 10. Saves: Marissa Harnish 8.
Emmaus goals: Marissa Gigliotti, Morgann Orobono, Gracie Huffer. Assists: Ella Horner, Madi Lenig. Shots: 11. Penalty corners: 5. Saves: Emily Romano 12.
Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.