Fox Chapel knocks off undefeated North Allegheny in overtime to win Class 4A crown

By: Nathan Breisinger
Thursday, November 2, 2023 | 10:13 PM

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Thirty-eight years separated the Fox Chapel girls soccer program from its last WPIAL championship – and all it took was one shot in extra time to end that streak.

It was a storybook ending for senior Kate Friday as just 35 seconds into overtime, Alyssa Quackenbush found Friday with a perfect feed that led to a glorious wide-open look for the golden goal that gave Fox Chapel a 1-0 victory over North Allegheny in the WPIAL Class 4A title game Thursday night at Highmark Stadium.

“I feel like I’m dreaming right now,” Friday said. “I could not have done it without this group of girls.”

With the ball in front of her and no one around just inside the 18, Friday delivered the biggest goal of her high school career past North Allegheny goalkeeper Natalie Rak.

“I knew right when I got the ball, I needed to shoot because NA is a fast team,” Friday said. “I took that touch, I shot it, and it went in. It’s the best feeling that I’ve ever felt.”

With nerves running high in a championship match, it didn’t get any less tense when North Allegheny and Fox Chapel took a scoreless game into overtime.

WPIAL Section 1-4A coach of the year Carlo Prati knew exactly what his team had to do.

“We were unable to get our wings wide all game long. That’s been our bread and butter all year long,” Prati said. “As soon as that ball came out wide and saw some space, I knew they were going to pressure. As soon as that ball got slid over to Kate, I knew it could be dangerous, and she had an amazing shot.”

The Foxes weren’t alone in the fight to win a championship for the first time since 1985. Prior to the game, the players received video messages from alumni who played on the last team that won a title.

“They sent us videos saying good luck, we hope for the best, and this is going to be the best moment of your life.” Friday said.

The sixth-seeded Foxes (13-4-2) took those videos as inspiration to take down undefeated, top-seeded, defending champion North Allegheny (20-1).

“We put it up on the screen and all watched it,” Friday said. “They talked about how even though you may be the sixth seed and they are No. 1, that you just have to keep on pushing forward and work together. That’s exactly what we did.”

Throughout regulation, Fox Chapel put together several chances against a North Allegheny team it lost to by one goal in a pair of regular season matchups.

In the seventh minute, Friday had the opportunity to break the ice with a free kick but sent it barreling over the outstretched arms of Rak and the crossbar.

Fox Chapel continued to press against the No. 1 Tigers, but the strong North Allegheny back line held up and Rak made handful of aggressive plays to nullify any chances for the Foxes.

With just two minutes left in the first half, North Allegheny set up for a corner kick as the Tigers looked to find their top scorer in Abigail Stager. Although the centering kick was defended well, Stager still managed to collect the ball but pushed it wide left of the cage to keep the game scoreless.

Stager once again found herself in a prime scoring position early in the second half as Rowan Barsotti hit her with a great pass in space. Stager’s initial shot rose and rang off the crossbar. The rebound fell right to her feet at the mouth of 6-yard box, but Fox Chapel keeper Lia Pizzella dove with desperation to make the stop.

“We weren’t able to come up with the goals that we needed to,” North Allegheny coach Chuck Kelley said.

Pizzella was a big factor for Fox Chapel as she stopped each of the six shots she faced.

As the game turned to overtime, both teams knew it was down to one play.

“It was a new game,” Kelley said. “We needed to reset ourselves.”

The overtime tally for Friday put the exclamation point on a long-awaited title for the Foxes and an opportunity to avenge two regular season losses against the Tigers.

“We wanted to get back to North Allegheny. We thought both games we played in the beginning of the year we were in,” Prati said. “One bounce goes one way, and we win.”

Tags: Fox Chapel, North Allegheny