Parkland keeps rolling
Trojans top Emmaus to earn 4A title game berth against Nazareth
Parkland’s 4-1 victory over archrival Emmaus in Tuesday’s District 11 Class 4A girls soccer semifinals — the Trojans’ fourth over the Green Hornets in the last 33 days — was a little bittersweet for senior Mariana Aubele-Gonzalez.
To clarify, it was a little bitter and a lot sweet.
“I grew up playing with a lot of the Emmaus girls,” Aubele-Gonzalez said. “I played for Lower Macungie when I was little. So, I feel for them. It stinks we always played them in the semifinals and never in the finals.
“But, it feels good, you know. We just beat them in football last Friday night and it’s nice to know Parkland is still going strong again this year.”
Coach Al Haddad’s Trojans, who won the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title, are stronger now than they’ve been all season.
They improved to 18-2-1 overall and advanced to Thursday’s Class 4A final opposite No. 3 seed Nazareth, which stymied Easton 3-0 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
Parkland and Nazareth also secured PIAA state tournament berths.
It was Emmaus, however, that took an early advantage against the Trojans in their fourth and final meeting this year.
Junior Madison Woodward, an EPC all-star first team selection, rolled a right-footed shot into the lower-left corner of the net with 30:36 remaining in the opening half.
“We were really, really excited to get that first goal,” Emmaus coach Sarah Oswald said. “We talked about putting them on their heels and putting the pressure on them. We were able to do that. Unfortunately, they scored one and opened the floodgates. We were never able to gain control again.”
Parkland, indeed, went right to work. Aubele-Gonzalez equalized at 1 with 23:56 left before halftime when the Green Hornets were unable to clear from the backline. Junior Ivy Dias tallied the go-ahead goal with 8:28 remaining in the first half, cleaning up after a shot attempt by Aubele-Gonazalez.