November 13, 2015
When Fox Chapel won its first WPIAL Class AAA field hockey championship in 2012, the Foxes barely had any time to celebrate the accomplishment. They had to get on a bus and play State College in a play-in game at Penn State less than 24 hours after they defeated Penn-Trafford, 1-0, in overtime in the WPIAL final. The Foxes lost that game, 5-0, and experienced the zenith and nadir of emotions in less than 24 hours.
Three years later, the scenario was much different as the Foxes had a week to enjoy their 2-0 victory against North Allegheny in the 2015 WPIAL Class AAA championship last Tuesday at the Tigers’ Newman Stadium. The Foxes (20-1) were dealt their first loss Tuesday as they fell to Lower Dauphin, the third-place team from District 3, in a PIAA Class AAA first-round game.
Coach Jen McCrady was much happier with this year’s scenario than the one her team faced three years ago, particularly for her seniors who were on that 2012 team.
“Last time, we didn’t get to enjoy [the WPIAL title],” McCrady said. “These seniors won it as freshmen, so we talked about this being a bookend situation and how it would be for them to end on this note [with WPIAL titles as freshmen and seniors]. And I’ve got a freshman goalkeeper [Marissa Hardiman] and my daughter [junior Megan McCrady] on this team, so it’s exciting.”