There is Emmaus and Moravian Academy and Parkland and Saucon Valley and Stroudsburg.

Those are the teams that were expected to excel in boys soccer this season. And they have.

Then, there are the surprise teams the teams that exceed expectations. Among them are Liberty in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Palisades in the Colonial League.

It's not that either the Hurricanes or Pirates were projected in the preseason to be cellar-dwellers, but both squads are entering this year's postseason as championship contenders.

One of the EPC's upstarts is Liberty, which was within a game of .500 in each of the past two seasons.

The Hurricanes entered Tuesday's contest against Bethlehem Catholic with a 10-6 overall record and a 10-4 mark in the conference. Most impressively, the 'Canes had been winners in eight of their last 10 games. They started the year 2-4.

Liberty coach Jason Horvath said the slow start was the combination of a difficult early schedule and poor play.

"We didn't start with easy games, especially considering where we were as a team at that point," said Horvath, who played on the Hurricanes' last District 11 championship team in 1993.

"Moravian Academy, Parkland, Pocono Mountain East, Stroudsburg those are some of the top teams in the area. I think if we played today, those games might go another way. I don't know. With the playoffs coming up, we'll see."

The objective for Liberty, according to Horvath, is to remain focused for the entire game, all 80 minutes. The Hurricanes, while fast and skilled, are susceptible to lapses in concentration.

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Liberty, Palisades boys soccer teams among surprises in District 11