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New Hope picks up 5th consecutive shutout win

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It’s very difficult to sustain a quality program at the high school level, particularly for a small school.
But the New Hope-Solebury field hockey team has been doing just that.
The Lions shut out host Cheltenham by a score of 10-0 on Monday to continue their winning ways in the Suburban One League Freedom Division.
It was the fifth win in a row for New Hope and the fourth in league play, all shutout victories.
The Lions scored early and often, with Mia Gomolinski finding the cage in the first few minutes of play. Gomolinski scored again on a corner, and Avery Mendola put one in on a direct corner from Sophia Cozza. Ava Cozza took a ball from Mendola and put it in the net, and the Lions led 4-0 after one quarter.
They added two in the second quarter, as Sophia Cozza scored with an assist from Gomolinski and Gomolinski scored again to give New Hope a 6-0 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Madie Thistlewaite put one in on a direct corner from Sophia Cozza for the Lions’ only tally in that frame.
New Hope finished off the contest with three more goals in the fourth quarter by Ava Cozza, Kat Thistlewaite on a corner from Mendola and Gomolinski capped off the day with her fourth goal of the game.
“We all work so well together, and we’re mostly younger players,” said Gomolinski, a junior forward. “We only have three seniors and four juniors. The rest of our team is all underclassmen and they all stepped up so much. When you have a team as small as ours, whenever you graduate people, it’s a loss, but I feel like each year new people come in and step up.

“We have two freshmen, Ava Cozza and Laura Genovay, who are really doing a great job and it’s exciting to see them step up.”
The Lions opened up the 2021 campaign with a 1-0 win over SOL Freedom rival Springfield (Montco).
“Springfield was one of our most challenging teams last year,” Gomolinski said. “This year they were our first game and we beat them, 1-0. That was a huge confidence boost for us and really amped everyone up.”
New Hope has won the District One Class A title every year since 2017.
“We all have to step up to the challenge. We’ve had a lot of success and obviously there’s pressure with that but I think we’re up to it,” Gomolinski said. “No one wants to be the ones who dropped the ball.”
This is New Hope’s second season in the SOL after departing from the Bicentennial Athletic League after the 2019 season. With last year shortened by the pandemics, this is the first full year in the conference for the program. The Lions are one of three Class A programs in the league, along with Springfield and Lower Moreland.
“I think being in the SOL is a great challenge for our team,” New Hope coach Gwen Smith said. “I love it. I’m looking forward to seeing the other side (of the conference). Cheltenham is on our side but we didn’t play them last year so it was nice to see them as well. It’s good to see new teams and have new challenges.”


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