Champs again
Emmaus field hockey wins 13th state championship with 4-0 victory over Central Dauphin
They received an escort from the Emmaus police and fire departments as their bus pulled onto Cedar Crest Boulevard early Saturday afternoon on their way to Whitehall for the state championship game. Horns blared.
When it was dark out several hours later, the police and fire departments were there on the way home, giving the players and coaches on Emmaus
High School field hockey team another escort, this one from the Interstate 78 exit, down Cedar Crest and back into the high school parking lot. Horns blared again.
In between the royal treatments, the Emmaus players took care of the rest.
Kyleigh Faust scored two goals and sisters Annika and Rachel Herbine scored one a piece to lead Emmaus to a 4-0 win over Central Dauphin in the PIAA Class 3A championship game at the Zephyr Sports Complex at Whitehall High School.
A season of masks, temperature checks, scheduling uncertainty and concern for everyone’s health ended on a lucky number for Emmaus: 13. The Green Hornets (16-0) have now won 13 state titles and are 13-3 in state title games.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Emmaus coach Sue Butz-Stavin, the nation’s all-time leader in wins with 987. “We had to
fight the whole game.”
She said that this one does not feel much different from the first 12, despite the circumstances.
“In that regard, because of COVIDand when we started, we only played in the county and had to find two outside games to get 10 games,” she said. “The importance of where you are in the bracket, that doesn’t change. You still have the same emotions.”
The most important issue was Central Dauphin (16-2) star Hope Rose. Rose is considered by many the nation’s top recruit in field hockey. She scored 90 goals this season and finished her career with 232, good for No. 3 all-time in the United States.
The plan was simple and simply executed: keep the ball away from Rose. Emmaus controlled about 70% of the game, including dominating the first quarter. The Hornets had five penalty corner opportunities in the first quarter.
Faust scored her first goal on the fifth penalty corner. Annika Herbine assisted on Rachel Herbine’s goal several minutes later to make it 2-0.
The old saying in sports is that
the best defense is a good offense. The more Emmaus played in Central Dauphin’s endofthe field, the less relevant Rose became.
“We had to keep the ball from No. 11 [Rose] and attack on the opposite side,” Butz-Stavin said. “We knew that they would try to get the ball to [Rose]. She’s a phenomenal player. I was really, really happy. We played good team defense today. Bailey [Tietz] stepped up in the goal cage and had a terrific game. A great way to go out as a senior.”
Annika Herbine (Iowa) and Rose (Maryland) will face
each other again in the coming seasons in the Big Ten, and have a past together on the club team WC Eagles. Annika Herbine undoubtedly gave some advice to her teammates.
“Hope Rose is amazing,” Annika Herbine said. “She has great stick skills. She’s very good, but I think wetried to play around her. We played as a team, which brought us the championship.”
Faust, a junior center back and a Liberty University commit, agreed. Faust has scored eight goals this season, including the first goal in the state semifinal and final games.
“I don’t think we could have played better,” Faust said. “We played our game. We didn’t worry about the way they played. We played the way we’ve always been playing.”
Emmaus led 3-0 at halftime and after three quarters. Annika Herbine made it 4-0 midway through the fourth when she scored on an Abby Burnett pass. The Hornets actually put the ball in the cage two other times, but those were not counted because of dangerous play.
“It’s always great to be able to score in the first quarter,” ButzStavin said. “Sometimes you can score too early and take your foot off the gas. The nice thing about quarters is that you have the time to talk with your team at a couple minutes at a time and emphasize our strategies. … Too bad we had two legitimate goals taken away from us, but take 4-0 any time in a state championship.”
Tietz, a Georgetown signee, had 12 saves to record her 13th shutout of the season.
“We played amazing,” Annika Herbine said. “This is what we’ve been working for since my freshman year. We did not make it the last three years. It feels great to have this now. … This is the world to me. I’ve been picturing this ever since I started playing. I can’t even describe it.”
Central Dauphin 0000— 0 Emmaus 2 1 01 — 4
Central Dauphin shots: 12. Penalty corners: 8. Saves: Kerlesa Hill 9. Emmaus goals: Kyleigh Faust 2, Annika Herbine, Rachel Herbine. Assists: Jenna Villeneuve, Annika Herbine, Abby Burnett. Shots: 14. Penalty corners: 10. Saves: Bailey Tietz 12.