Fox Chapel Ousts North Allegheny as WPIAL AAA Field Hockey Champ

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 | 10:36 AM

Fox Chapel won its second WPIAL Class AAA crown in the last four seasons by defeating the defending champion North Allegheny Tigers, 2-0, at Newman Stadium at North Allegheny High School on Tuesday night.

The Tigers were trying for a three-peat and were facing a Fox Chapel team that had defeated them in the season opener, 4-0. The rematch was a more tightly contested affair thanks to a North Allegheny defense that was able to thwart an unrelenting Fox Chapel attack throughout the entire first half.

Fox Chapel outshot North Allegheny, 15-3 on the night and dictated the pace of the game, but the Tigers managed to stymie the Foxes for a while thanks to the play of goalie Katie Shideler.

Eventually the pristine passing and speed of the Foxes buckled the defending champions in the second half. With 18:20 remaining in the game, sophomore forward Paige Ryan was able to drive in a rebound to give the Foxes a 1-0 lead. 

North Allegheny nearly tied the game two minutes later when Fox Chapel goalie Marissa Hardiman mistakenly cleared the ball directly to NA’s Maddy Snyder. With Hardiman and the defense collapsing on her quickly, Snyder centered a pass toward an open Angie Genter in front of the net but the pass was just beyond her stick and rolled harmlessly out of bounds.

Following the near-miss, Fox Chapel put the game and the championship on ice with a blistering shot by Abby Pitcairn with 5:34 remaining to bring the score to its eventual final, 2-0.

The Foxes move on to the PIAA tournament on Tuesday night for a first round matchup against the third place finisher in District 3. The site and time is to be determined.

Tags: Fox Chapel