With painful losses in rearview mirror, Plum, Fox Chapel ready to duke it out in WPIAL finals

By: Jerin Steele
Thursday, October 31, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Plum and Fox Chapel have a similar story entering the WPIAL boys soccer championship game.

Both have seen their share of heartache in the postseason, but that came to an end Tuesday with wins in the semifinals.

Now, the Alle-Kiski Valley schools separated by 10 miles will meet in the WPIAL Class 4A final at 8 p.m. Friday at Highmark Stadium.

For the Mustangs, it has been a six-year journey to the final under Raf Kolankowski, and after three losses in the semifinals, some in excruciating fashion, they finally got their moment.

It will be Plum’s first final since 2005, which was a 2-1 win over Peters Township.

“It’s a numbers game,” Kolankowski said. “You come close so many times, and, eventually, you’ll come through. Hopefully, we can have a similar performance to what we had (Tuesday) on Friday.”

The Foxes suffered through four straight semifinal exits, so they have endured plenty of pain in the recent past as well. They will play in their first championship game since 2015 and are vying for their first title since 1995.

“Getting to this point means a lot because of how hard our section is and then beating a good team like Peters Township (in the semifinals),” Fox Chapel coach Erik Ingram said. “We knew (the semifinal) was going to be a war because of how many times (Peters Township) has been here. Playing teams like Seneca Valley and North Allegheny in section and then playing teams like Upper St. Clair and Peters Township in the playoffs makes this very special.”

Plum beat North Allegheny, 2-1, and Fox Chapel shut out Peters Township, 1-0, in the semifinals Tuesday at Gateway.

Kent Holmes and Christian Alter scored for the Mustangs in their victory. Aidan Stein had the goal for Fox Chapel in its win.

Plum (17-0-3) and Fox Chapel (12-4-2) met in a nonsection game Oct. 12, and Plum won 3-1. Ingram said the Foxes went with a rotated lineup and subbed out some of their other regular starters early to give them a rest before a crucial section game with North Hills two days later.

The Foxes needed a win against North Hills to earn a split of the Section 3-4A title with North Allegheny.

Zack Carnahan, Andy Strasser and Alter scored for the Mustangs in the win.

“I think we match up well with Plum, but they’re a great team,” Ingram said. “They haven’t lost yet, so it’ll be a challenge. I’m looking forward to playing them, because I like Raf. He’s a great guy. I can’t wait for Friday.”

Kolankowski gave his players the day off Wednesday. They returned to practice Thursday to prepare for what should be an intense battle for WPIAL gold Friday night.

“We played Saturday, Tuesday and have a game on Friday, so that’s three games in seven days,” Kolankowski said. “You don’t want to work them too hard in practice because then they won’t have the legs. The good thing is that they’re teenagers, so they can recover fast. If that was me out there, you’d have to call an ambulance, and they’d be wheeling me out of here.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Fox Chapel, Plum