Shayna Berman and Laura Nagg
Staff Writers
A completely different feel this year, but a mirror image end from last season as the girls soccer season finished on Nov. 1. The Lady Lions placed second in the BAL, won semi-final districts, lost the district finals, and lost the first round of states. Yet, no matter what the record says, the team confidently can say that this season reaped much more positivity and unity than last year.
Sophomore starter Maggie DeVito reflected on the season:“This soccer season was a time for getting to know our new coaches and having lots of fun.”
The new coaching staff was definitely a transition for the girls. Previous coach and New Hope gym teacher, Chris Shank, returned to the program after a few years at CB West and taking a break from coaching high school soccer. He has been coaching for over 20 years at all levels and has led his teams to many championships. New Hope-Solebury alumni Emma Natale and Taylor Mohr were coached under Shank, winning many district titles themselves, came back this year as Junior Varsity Coach and Assistant Coach. The girls have a fairly young team considering that they lost 11 seniors last year including their goalie. This transition included a few freshman earning starting spots and playing time on the varsity team, including Sam Kruopas, who was a top scorer for this season. Another new addition was goal keeper Laura Nagg, who stepped up to begin training during preseason with Mohr who graduated from Elon University in the spring, playing D1 on the woman’s soccer team.
Even with all the joys of being together as a team and the many victories during the season, it is bittersweet saying goodbye to beloved seniors. This includes the tied top scorer Claudia Kolinchak, their speedy forward Taylor Kropus, and top assister Shayna Berman and captain Laura Nagg. The other captains included juniors Halle Mohr and Katie Mardirossian. The girls look forward to next year and believe that they will go far. They have an understanding of Coach Shank and know what they can expect from themselves and the team. Although they are dreading the preseason workouts, the girls look forward to an extremely successful 2018 season.
