Overcoming the cold and extreme odds: Lions head to states

A.J. Oakes, Nate Donohoe, and Declan Curran

Staff Writers

All season long the New Hope-Solebury Soccer team was referred to as the “underdogs.” The season was filled with its ups and downs but on Nov. 12, 2019,  the Lions made history. The team pushed through all 80 minutes of fast-paced soccer and pulled off their season long goal to make it to the state final! 

  The boys knocked out the 22-0-1 Lewisburg Green Dragons with a final score of 2-1. Within the opening 20 minutes, Junior Davis Nagg put the Lions on top. As the boys entered the locker room they knew they were not going home without a fight, and that's what they did, they continued to push. Fighting through the bitter temperatures and tense moments, junior Justin Kruse added another tally onto the scoreboard with just under 20 minutes left to play. 

  With 3 minutes and 28 seconds left to play in the game, Lewisburg had a spur of energy and put one in the back of the net, but it was not enough to put them on top. This had the Lions and their fans’ hearts racing, the energy in that stadium was through the roof. 

  “This is still our game!” captain Caleb Herring shouted to energize the team and captain Ben Koeppen exhorted the players to “stay in this boys!” after Lewisburg appeared to come on strong. 

  Lewisburg kept pushing to get another ball in the net. As the final whistle blew, reality set in and the New Hope-Solebury Lions knew they were going to the state finals. The boys will either play Quaker Valley or Mercyhurst Prep. For the first time in seven years the Lions will be participating in a State Championship game. The game will be on Friday at 1 p.m. at Hershey Park Stadium. As Davis Nagg would always exclaim: “Road to States, baby!”

Field Hockey claims third District Final

Samantha Curtis and Rayna Sirken

Staff Writers

The Field Hockey team was states bound after their win against Springfield township in the district final on Tuesday, October 29th. Our girls were 23-0 and never scored on all season with Lydia Eastburn as goalie and a strong defense. 

  The district final game was tied 0-0 at halftime with it being a very intense first half. But the team did not back down. Coming out with speed in the second half, Kate Dougherty scored the first goal of the game assisted by Lilly Smith at 20:01. The team was ecstatic and jumped for joy. But this didn't stop the Lady Lions from rolling. They kept the ball on Springfield’s half for most of the time after the first goal. The Lady Lions knew that there was still time in the game for the score to change. 

  As the team picked up Springfield’s weakness they decided to use that against them. The Lady Lions found what worked best for them as a team and applied it to the game. They pressured Springifeld’s half with several shots on goal but none of them could seem to make it. With just 1:07 left in the game, Kate Doc came in strong into the circle pulling around the goalie finding the back of the net. The team was now up 2-0 and just had to keep the ball down on their side for just one more minute.

  Everyone was counting down the seconds till the buzzer rang. As soon as the team heard the buzzer they celebrated and everyone ran onto the field and claimed their third district title in a row.

Girls Volleyball finishes strong

Gretchen Newman and Delaney Cullura

Staff Writers

New Hope-Solebury’s passionate girls volleyball team had a wonderful season. Their season was record-setting, winning 17 out of 22 games. New Hope Volleyball is a committed and supportive team. The girls are not just teammates out on the court, but they like to call themselves family. 

  They lost many talented seniors from last year which was a concern for this year’s season.  Despite this, their teamwork, resilience, and perseverance allowed them to still crush the competition. Their outstanding setter, Grace Hanly, announced that, “we would not be a team without each other” especially with Bella Fleischacker, the libero, who had to throw her body down for each ball she was determined to dig. 

  Dealing with many distractions, such as subpar calls from the referees, would bring the court’s energy down a bit. Nevertheless, their outside hitter, Sarah Duessing, and middle hitter, Gretchen Newman, would remind the team before each set with encouragement like, “Play OUR game guys! Do not let these distractions affect your playing time on the court. Have fun! Be positive and nothing will bring us down!” 

  The girls pushed through with this energy, making it into District Semi-Finals, and winning against Collegium High School. Sadly, the season came to an early end by losing to St. Basil’s Academy at District Finals.

  Moving forward, the team will be losing five seniors which will affect the team once again. But it won't be the first time they readjust and get back in the system with each other. By welcoming and mentoring the incoming freshmen, the team will once again reemerge to be one of the most dominant in the area. As the team went in for their last huddle all together, the three juniors, Grace Hanly, Cooper Sorin, and Allison Sommers made the group tear up by saying, “We’re going to miss playing with our seniors.”

Lady Lions Soccer coming to a close

Brenna Cerf, Cheyenne Carr, Kennedy Fisher, and Leanna Hoffmann

Staff Writers

This year the girls soccer team ended their regular season winning nine games and losing eight games. In their districts game against St. Basil’s that took place at Lower Moreland, New Hope lost 3-0. 

  The season was successful with their new coach Brian and their new assistant coach Amanda Izzo. Despite the many losses, the girls still managed to have a great time. The team had fun with each other on and off the field. The girls would do team bonding activities and for fun off the field they went on a haunted hayride.

  The seniors who are leaving after this year will be missed: Brenna Cerf, Maggie Devito, Frany Barile, Natalie Muarry, Logan Amberson, Tara Cooney, Becca Wilson, and Meghan Miller. The team captions were Sam Finch, Becca Wilson and Maggie Devito. The underclassmen will miss the leadership and the skills that the seniors brought to the team. Hopefully in the upcoming season, the underclassmen will set up and make the team even better than this year. Even with the losses this year, the team still walked off the field with a smile and a sense of pride. Overall, the season was great and the girls had a great time with each game and practice.