Needless to say, the 2023 season for the Fox Chapel Area girls soccer team was quite magical.
After all, the Foxes won their first WPIAL championship since 1985 – a thrilling 1-0 victory in overtime over top-seeded North Allegheny in the Class 4A title game. 2024 graduate Kate Friday netted the game-winner for the sixth-seeded Foxes just 35 seconds into extra time. The team followed that by advancing into the PIAA quarterfinals.
Now, it’s a new season, and this group of Foxes becomes the hunted, the team with the target on its back, a team that has dropped a classification to Class 3A.
“The girls are pretty excited, ready to go,” said third-year coach Carlo Prati. “Last year, we went through as the underdog nobody knew. Now, we’re going in as the 4A champs who’ve dropped down to 3A, everybody is going to be looking at us. I reiterated to the girls, no matter what team you’re playing this year, if you don’t come out to play, they’re going to be coming for you. We’ve got to be prepared on any given night. Everybody has to be on their game from the start.”
Obviously, they want to keep the excitement going that grew throughout last year’s championship season.
“We keep talking about how everything worked out at the end of last season. The girls really started believing toward the end of the season. We saw a little spark from them throughout the season, that we figured if they got into the playoffs, they were young enough that they don’t really feel the pressure,” coach Prati said. “By the end of the year, we had four or five freshmen in the playoffs. We took it one game at a time. I told the girls there were zero people picking them to win, let’s prove them wrong. That was kind of our mindset throughout the playoffs.”
With so many underclassmen getting quality minutes last year, a strong nucleus returns, but a few key team members have graduated – Kate, Anna Troutman, and Sydney Schutzman.
“Those are going to be three spots, leadership-wise, that we’re going to have to fill,” coach Prati said.
As for that returning nucleus, sophomore striker Emily McKee, a first-team all-section performer as a freshman, looks to bring back the scoring touch that saw her net 24 goals and tally 11 assists in 2023.
“She was unbelievable,” coach Prati said. “She’s so quick. She has the knack to find the net no matter what position she’s at. You may push her to a terrible spot on the field, and she’ll find a way to get out of it and score. She makes everything look so easy. She’s very goal-hungry, but she’s not selfish. I tell her to be a little more selfish. She’s very team-oriented. She’s ruthless in front of the net. If it’s on her foot, you can probably guarantee that it’s going to be a goal.”
Another key returnee is senior midfielder Alyssa Quackenbush, an all-section selection who scored eight goals and notched 20 assists, including the feed that set up Friday for the championship-winning goal.
Senior Maddie Grimsley will shift to midfielder after a season at an outside wing position, necessitated in 2023 due to the amount of talent the team had at the midfield
Senior Maya DiPasquale, a four-year starter, is expected to anchor the defense.
Other sophomores who received a lot of playing time last year and are expected to do so this season are sisters Caylie and Taylor Wilkinson and Antonia Linzoain, who was a regular starter until a broken wrist caused her to miss the postseason.
The two girls who handled goalkeeping chores in 2023 return, senior Gianna Patterson and sophomore Lia Pizzella. Lia was the keeper throughout the playoff run, which included the shutout in the WPIAL championship game as she stopped each of the six shots she faced.
“We’re still kind of assessing who’s going to be the starter,” coach Prati said.
The move to Class 3A results in a lot of unfamiliarity in the Foxes’ opponents this season, but the coach does expect tough competition from Mars Area and Hampton in Class 3A Section 1. And, Coach Prati said he loaded the nonsection schedule with top-notch competition.
Coach Prati said staying motivated throughout the season is key to having another long postseason run.
“We’re going to have to stay focused each game,” the coach said. “We can’t just coast through the whole year. Just because we won last year, doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. We just have to come out and play, and, hopefully, we can make another long run.”