By Scott Johnston
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/25/11
There will be a no three-peat in District 11 for perennial power Emmaus.
Nazareth senior midfielder Richard Tonnies had the game of his life scoring a career-high six goals including the game-winner just 57 seconds in overtime today as the Blue Eagles recorded their biggest win in program history, stunning two-time defending champion Emmaus, 12-11, in the District 11 semifinals at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown.
Fourth-seeded Nazareth (14-7) advances to its first district final Friday at 7 p.m. at Emmaus’ Memorial Field. Awaiting the Blue Eagles will be second-seeded Allentown Central Catholic, which dispatched of Parkland 13-5 in the nightcap.
Emmaus, which was gunning for its third straight district title, ends its season at 15-5. Ironically, the Hornets season ends the way it began – with a 12-11 loss in overtime to Downingtown East.
While Central Catholic’s fourth win of the season against Parkland was not much surprise, what transpired in Game 1 certainly sent shockwaves throughout the Lehigh Valley.
Nazareth, a program that’s only in its seventh year of existence, had never defeated Emmaus and had been winless in three meeting against the Hornets this season, dropping a pair of regular season games (14-5 and 15-4) and a respectable 9-6 loss in the Lehigh Valley Conference semifinals last week.
But thanks to Tonnies, who also had the game-winner in the Blue Eagles 9-8 quarterfinal round over Southern Lehigh on Sunday, Nazareth can now look forward to competing for its first district title.
Senior Justin Brown had two goals and an assist in the win, while sophomore Grant Searfoss added a goal and an assist. Junior Travis Crown, freshman Jaryd Hartzell and senior Victor Bill also had solo tallies. Junior Bryan Shields had a game-high three assists.
Emmaus was led by senior Dan Kinek who had a five-point effort on three goals and a pair of assists. Teammates Zack Schleicher and Travis Schmidt added a pair of goals.
In the nightcap, senior Adam Wydra had a game-high seven-point effort, netting a pair of goals and five assists and senior Tyler Albanese added four goals as Central rolled over Parkland.
Matt Savage had a hat trick while Steve Mussoline added a pair of goals and an assist for the Vikings, who improved to 17-4 on the season. Junior goalie Bob Hayman was outstanding in net, allowing just two second-half goals while finishing the game with seven saves.
Parkland, which ended the season at 13-6, was led by midfielder Andrew Seip who had a pair of goals. Lehigh recruit Kurtis Kaunas and Ryan Beville added a goal and an assist.
Nazareth 12, Emmaus 11
Naz 2-4-2-3-1 – 12
Em 1-2-0-8-0– 11
Nazareth
Richard Tonnies 6g
Justin Brown 2g, 1a
Grant Searfoss 1g, 1a
Travis Crown 1g
Jaryd Hartzell 1g
Victor Bill 1g
Bryan Shields 3a
Emmaus
Dan Kinek 3g, 2a
Zack Schleicher 2g
Travis Schmidt 2g
Cole Campbell 1g, 1a
Andrew Brown 1g
Tyler Kennedy 1g
John McGeary 1g
Marc Feldman 1a
Central Catholic 13, Parkland 5
Park 2-1-2-0 – 5
ACC 5-3-2-3 – 13
Parkland
Andrew Seip 2g
Kurtis Kaunas 1g, 1a
Ryan Beville 1g, 1a
Andrew Bungert 1g
Alex DiPasquale 1a
Dan Minnich 1a
ACC
Matt Savage 3g
Kevin Gulyas 1g, 1a
Tyler Albanese 4g
Adam Wydra 2g, 5a
Steve Mussoline 2g, 1a
Alex Fisher 1a
GB Harkins 1a
