Plenty of highlights for Fox Chapel girls soccer during ‘wonderful season’
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Saturday, November 23, 2024 | 11:01 AM
Fox Chapel’s Alyssa Quackenbush hugs Maddie Grimsley after scoring against Plum during their WPIAL Class 3A semifinal Oct. 29.
Fox Chapel’s Emily McKee works past Plum’s Catie Weiss during their WPIAL Class 3A semifinal on Oct. 29.
The Fox Chapel girls soccer team dealt with the immense pressure of being the defending WPIAL Class 4A champions all season.
Dropping to Class 3A, Fox Chapel opened the season on 18-match unbeaten streak before ultimately advancing to the second round of the PIAA playoffs.
“I thought the girls had a wonderful season,” Foxes coach Carlo Prati said. “We had a letdown in the WPIAL final. The girls were pretty much ranked first the entire year. Usually, teams that are up there and moving from the one to the five in those ranges, I made sure to keep them not worrying about rankings and just playing their game.”
Fox Chapel finished the year 19-4-1, cruising to the WPIAL Section 1-3A crown with a 10-0 record in section play. The Foxes outscored their section opponents by a combined score of 50-2.
Fox Chapel was led in scoring by sophomore Emily McKee, who was one of two players selected to the all-WPIAL team. Senior Alyssa Quackenbush was also chosen for all-WPIAL honors.
Fox Chapel had a number of players earn all-section honors. Cassie Classen, Maya DiPasquale, Maddie Grimsley, McKee, Quackenbush and Caylie Wilkinson were all chosen to the team.
Prati said that Quackenbush was part of a strong group of 10 seniors. Four of those players — Grimsley, DiPasquale, Bella Urso and Quackenbush — started since their freshman season.
The senior class helped Fox Chapel win a Class 4A title last season and reach the 3A title game this season before losing to defending champion South Fayette.
Prati said he tried getting younger players work during the season to help build the roster.
“I’ve been trying to make sure younger girls get experience,” Prati said. “We are going to have a lot of key players missing next season.”
During the state playoffs, Fox Chapel advanced out of the first round by beating District 6 champion Hollidaysburg, 5-1. The Foxes were tripped up in the quarterfinals by Lower Dauphin, 2-1.
“We kept it simple at practice (to prepare),” Prati said. “We worked on basic stuff. We played our game, and we’ve been fine. It was a tough day to have an off day.”
Tags: Fox Chapel
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