Emmaus (who else?) is team of year after 13th state title.
Winning a state championship is difficult enough.
Winning one under the specter of a worldwide pandemic is something that Olivia Chase will not forget.
“It was definitely a different experience from the past three years,” said Chase, a senior forward on the Emmaus High School field hockey team. “It was hard at times to keep motivated. Wenever knew if wewere going to come back the next day. It definitely tested us, that’s for sure.
“It probably helped us keep the end in mind.”
Emmaus (16-0), again the Morning Call’s field hockey team of the year, won its 13th state championship under trying — and that’s putting it mildly — conditions. Anyone playing a fall sport had to follow unusual protocols such as masks, temperature checks, social distancing and anything else that popped up along the way.
Schedules were shortened. School districts, locally and statewide, pulled their own teams off the field. COVID-19 was constantly in the news.
And the Green Hornets had their own demons. They had lost in the state semifinals for three straight seasons. They got over that hump by beating Central Bucks East in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals. Then they shut down the nation’s top scorer, Hope Rose, in a 4-0 win over Central Dauphin in the state title game.
“We’re thankful wehad the opportunity to play and the school district allowed us,” Emmaus coach Sue Butz-Stavin said. “We took it one day at a time. Wewere grateful the girls were able to display their talent.”
Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.
FINALRANKINGS
1. Emmaus (16-0). District 11, PIAA Class 3A champs. 2. East on (11-2). District 11 Class 2 A second place. 3. Northampton (9-2-1). Two one-goal losses and one win vs. Easton. 4. Northwestern (19-5). Colonial League, District 11 Class Achampion.
5. Southern Lehigh (14-2). Colonial League
second place, District 11 2A champ. 6. Park land (8-3). All three losses to No .1 Emma us. 7. Upper Perkiomen (10-2-2). Won third straight PAC title.
8. Pocono Mountain East (7-1). EPC Mountain champ, District 11 2A second place. 9. Stroudsburg (8-3). OTloss to Parkland in District 11 3A quarters.
10. Bangor (11-5). Colonial League, District 11 2A semifinalist.
First four out: Nazareth (7-5-1), Saucon Valley (8-5-1), Moravian Academy (8-6), Palmerton (8-8).