New Hope-Solebury lost a heartbreaker to Faith Christian Academy in PKs in Wednesday’s District 1 2A title game. Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valco. Check back for a gallery of photos.
District 1 3A title game
#1 Faith Christian 1, #2 New Hope-Solebury 1 (PKs 5-4 FCA)
It was a heartbreaking ending for New Hope-Solebury.
After taking an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Evan Kearney, NHS held that lead until just eight minutes remained in regulation when Faith knotted the score.
Two overtimes could not determine a winner, and it came down to penalty kicks – a cruel ending for a New Hope squad that came oh-so-close to winning in regulation.
“It was a great game,” Lions’ coach Chris Van Pelt said. “It’s tough when you feel like you were the better team and deserving of a better result, but that’s just how this game and life goes sometimes.”
The Lions’ coach went on to pay tribute to his team.
I couldn’t be more proud of the boys, not only for how they fought tonight but for the season in general,” Van Pelt said. “We had a lot of great results and moments and despite recent disappointment I hope they can still look back on everything a be as proud as I am for everything they’ve done.”
Scoring summary
First half
Evan Kearney from Devin Heble (NH-S)
Second half
FCA goal – 72nd minute
2 Overtimes
No score
(FCA 5-4 in penalty kicks)
New Hope-Solebury coach Chris VanPelt:
–The game: “We came out in the first half with a lot of energy off the ball and composure on the ball, connecting passes which gave us a lot of great chances. We scored in the first half from a free kick. Devin Heble played a dangerous ball into the box, and Evan Kearney was able to get his head on it to put it into the far corner.
“In the second half everything flipped, Faith had better energy winning more first and second balls and fighting to find a way to level things up which they unfortunately did with eight minutes left.
“We did really well to keep our heads to see out the game. In overtime, we definitely regrouped, defended well and had some good scoring chances before ultimately meeting the disappointing result in PKs.”
New Hope-Solebury closed out its season with a 7-7-3 record.
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