BETHLEHEM – There’s a point in every game where the outcome gets decided. Sometimes it’s early in the contest. Sometimes it’s later.

In this year’s District 11 Class 3A girls lacrosse game played at the Ulrich Sports Complex at Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus, that point came right in the middle - late in the first half and early in the second.

Emmaus scored five straight goals over the final nine minutes of the first half, then weathered a Pleasant Valley barrage early in the second half to maintain its lead en route to Wednesday’s 10-6 win and this year’s title.

Deadlocked at 3-3 with the first-half clock showing less 10 minutes, East Penn Conference MVP Julia Cote scored a go-ahead goal with 8:42 left in the half. She scored another just over four minutes later, and teammate Olivia Schmidt scored another 30 seconds after that one. Two more goals by Jordyn Poll and Sophia Candy in the final 1:34 of the first half put Emmaus ahead 8-3 at intermission.

“They came out determined, and I think that was obvious in the first half that they wanted this game, they wanted revenge on PV,” said Emmaus head coach Roxann Betz. “They played lights out tonight. It was a very great game to watch for us.”

Pleasant Valley tried to mount a comeback in the second half. A pair of goals by Brielle McInaw in the first two minutes of the second half brought the Bears close. A Devon Bush goal at 15:17 made it 8-6 with over 15 minutes left.

“We were definitely a little flustered,” said Cote. “At halftime, we kind of had big heads and thought we were going to win. They started coming back and we needed to refocus. That’s exactly what we did. We called a timeout and our coach told us to relax, and that’s what we did and got the win.”

Pleasant Valley didn’t score the rest of the way. The Hornets added goals by Cote and Emily Hollinger to stretch their lead to 10-6 with 8:44 left. From there, Emmaus (19-3) did its best to hold the ball and let the clock run, dominating possession over the final seven minutes without taking many shots.

“I think our defense was on it tonight,” said Hornet senior Marybeth Smith. “Tonight, we adjusted to the calls really well. We knew what refs we had. We knew what Pleasant Valley likes to do. They draw those eight-meter fouls and they score off every eight-meter they get. We were really adjusting to that shooting space. We didn’t throw our sticks around or do any bad checks. We were composed.”

The win avenges the Hornets’ loss to Pleasant Valley in the East Penn Conference title game. The Bears also beat the Hornets in a regular season meeting this year.

“That was a big factor,” said Cote. “We wanted this win so badly after losing in EPCs and the regular season. It pushed us and got us the win.”

Pleasant Valley head coach Toni Bush said the Hornets made some adjustments since their game two weeks ago and played a bit quicker this time around.

“They moved the ball a lot faster,” she said. “They pressured our offense a lot harder. Our offense, with the young players we have, the inexperience, they didn’t handle themselves like they needed to under that pressure tonight.”

The loss ends Pleasant Valley’s best season in program history. The Bears finished 17-6 overall, and picked up their first league title.

“History-making,” Bush said when asked to describe the season. “I told the girls going into the game that no matter what happens, we made history this season. We knew it was going to be a tough feat. I told them no matter what, they made history. We’re proud of them and to hold their heads high.”

X FACTOR … While the Bears normally dominate the X, the Hornets were able to limit Pleasant Valley’s face off success to an 11-7 margin and also picked up four draws in a row during the decisive stretch of play late in the first half.

GOALS … Cote led all scorers with five goals and Hollinger had two, while three other Emmaus players had one each including Candy, Poll and Schmidt. PV goals were scored by Devon Bush (3), McInaw (2) and Alexandra Bush (1).

PIAA PLAYOFFS … Emmaus has only three losses this season, and two of them came against the Bears. The Hornets won their first district title since 2011. They will move on to the state tournament to take on the fourth-place team from District 1, which will be either Radnor or Garnet Valley. That game will be played Tuesday.