Whitehall upsets Emmaus in conference quarterfinal
Cole Guerney, Whitehall’s undersized senior captain, stood tall in front of the goal and skillfully turned away a last-second laser on frame.
The clutch save allowed coach Christian Malone’s sixth-seeded Zephyrs to escape Emmaus with a 1-0 upset triumph over the No. 3 seed Green Hornets in Saturday’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference boys soccer quarterfinal matinee.
Whitehall (13-6) advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal round against second-seeded Northampton (17-2) at a site and time to be determined. Northampton survived No. 7 Pleasant Valley 2-1 in overtime Saturday.
Guerney was both excited and proud to play a key part in the program’s initial EPC playoff victory, but he is convinced the Zephyrs can accomplish even more this postseason.
“I’m 5-8, even though they were heckling me, yelling I was 5-3 or 5-4,” Guerney said with a smile, speaking on his vertical to deflect away the Green Hornets’ late attempt.
“We got the big win. In the end it’s the quarterfinals and we’re looking to win it all, so it’s not that big a win, I guess. It is important, though.”
Guerney and Whitehall’s defense kept Emmaus off the scoreboard.
The only offense came in the opening 12 minutes of play.
Junior Valentin Lezcano lined a laser into the upper corner of the net from around 25 yards away. That was one of only two shots on goal for the Zephyrs, who spent most of the second half protecting their slight advantage.
Lezcano said he was simply opportunistic, in the right spot at the right time.
“I had the ball and I had some space,” Lezcano said. “I looked up and I just hit it. I got a good connection and it ended up being a great shot.”
Both coaches concurred.
“The kid took a great shot,” Emmaus coach John Cari said. “That is a beautiful bullet he put home. We had plenty of time to come back and find it, [but] we just didn’t.”
“Valentin showed a great strike,” Malone said.
Emmaus (15-3-1), with its 17 conference championships and 18 District 11 titles, entered the eightteam tournament with the impressive playoff pedigree. Whitehall, which started the season 1-3, is sizzling — a winner in 10 of its last 12 games.
Another storyline was Cari, in his 18th season at Emmaus, chasing career win No. 300. He remained stuck on 299 as the Green Hornets have lost two straight.
“Emmaus is well-known for soccer in this area with many,
many district championships,” said Malone, in his first season at his alma mater.
“The coach is the same coach as when I played at Whitehall. We knew who they were coming in, but we felt if we played our game we could get the win. You don’t stand a chance if you don’t believe that.”
“I expected a close game,” Lezcano said. “We came out and executed. It was a little sloppy, but we got it done.”
Whitehall now prepares for its semifinal-round matchup with rival Northampton. The Zephyrs edged the Konkrete Kids 2-1 on Oct. 12.
Emmaus, meanwhile, gets some time to regroup after the rare quarterfinal-round loss. The three-time defending District 11 Class 4A champion will open defense of its title on Oct. 26, likely at home.
The Green Hornets limped into last year’s district tournament as well before coming alive to upset
EPC champ Freedom in the semifinals and top rival Parkland in the final.
Cari, though, is concerned about his team’s recent lack of offensive firepower.
“I don’t have an answer,” the veteran coach said. “It’s been an issue. We’re struggling. It’s beyond just a struggle. We’re not taking shots.
“The good news is we have time now, but it’s not the time to working on these things. We’ll be OK, but right now it stings.”