The Fox Chapel Area boys lacrosse season is entering its final weeks, yet the team’s record isn’t where the players would like it to be. That doesn’t mean coach Jordon Hodder has lost his optimism; he says it just indicates the players have to have more confidence because talent is abundant.
“Although we haven’t achieved the desired outcomes, we are still in control of our destiny to make the playoffs, just like we were last year,” says the coach. “Last season, we ended the year on a winning streak that propelled us to success, and we have given ourselves that same opportunity this year.”
Right now, the team’s 11 seniors, among them college recruits Nolan Childs, Isaac Jacobs, and Kaeden Pekarcik, are especially focused on some unfinished business – they want to graduate knowing they did everything possible to get the Foxes back to the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs again. Last season, the team reached the quarterfinals.
That task hasn’t proved to be an easy one with the Foxes once again facing high-level competition in the toughest section of 3A. So far, the team has played every team that went to the playoffs last season with varying degrees of success. One of their biggest accomplishments so far was a decisive win over a powerful Seneca Valley team, 17-9. None of the veterans had ever experienced success against the Raiders before, so the victory was especially sweet for them.
Other competitions haven’t always played out in their favor, but there have been improvements, something that doesn’t show up when checking game scores.
Looking more at the big picture, coach Hodder says, “Overall, from last year against those opponents, we had better outcomes. We didn’t score against North Allegheny last year, but this year we scored six times. Upper St. Clair ran away with the game last year, but this season, we played a solid game, and there was only one goal separating us. We have improved; now it’s just refining and focusing on the little details in the close games.”
Senior Jake Siddons, an attackman who leads the team in goals and assists, has thoughts about how the team can finish each game in a better position.
“I think for our team to succeed this year and do as well as possible, we need to step up the game in the first half,” says Jake, whom coach Hodder calls a scoring machine.
“We always seem to struggle in the first half and then bump it up by a lot in the second half, so if we could start how we end, I think we will do a lot better,” Jake says.
Isaac, who is headed to John Carroll University to play lacrosse and football, adds, “We have a really good team, and our chemistry continues to get better. We have a lot of seniors, and a lot of talented younger players as well. We all have high expectations of ourselves and are working hard. A WPIAL championship is still the end goal.”
Nolan, a co-captain along with Jake, is headed to DePauw next year, and is another important contributor. He had always played defense in the past and was an anchor at that end of the field, but when coach Hodder asked him to step up and play more offense, he obliged.
“He’s one of those players who just knows how to get ground balls up and out,” his coach says. “His athleticism and strength are his best defensive weapons, and he has the ability to be very physical while playing on the ball.”
Nolan says, “One hundred percent we play in one of the best leagues. Nothing else compares. We realize we can play with the best teams, but we need to have a team-first mindset and more confidence. I know we can give much more in games. We have a good chance of winning and we need to believe that in order to win.”
One of Nolan’s personal highlights of the year came at the North Allegheny game when he showed his competitiveness, follow-through, strength, and quickness in tight spaces.
As a team, the consensus is that the Seneca Valley game best showcased the group and their defensive strength. Part of that credit goes to goalie Kaeden, a Southern Florida University recruit. His best game so far statistically was versus Pine-Richland when he had 21 saves.
“With close losses to two top teams, we know we can contend with the top dogs,” says Kaeden, whose athleticism, effectiveness in the clear, and play-making out of the cage separate him from other league goalies. “We also learned that our little mistakes cost us close games. We have the talent to compete, but little things such as turnovers and forced passes can cost us close games.”
“Kaeden plays with confidence and has been phenomenal this year,” adds coach Hodder. “He’s a gritty intense player whose overall effort has kept us competitive in games.”
“The addition of (freshman) Tucker (Cullen) definitely takes some pressure off me knowing if I’m having a bad game, he is there to back me up and vice versa,” Jake says. “I think we struggled at the very start of the season with the slight adjustment, but as the season has progressed, our offense has been working a lot better than it was last year.”
Not to be overlooked are the other seniors who have contributed much to the game this season: Josh Correnti, Owen Cooper, Rocco Didomenico, Ryan Napolitan, Jack O’Brien, Joe Rattner, and Gavin Rosswog.
Coach Hodder explains what he stresses the most to his players.
“We are taking every day one at a time and working on our game,” he says. “I’m proud of the improvements the team has made. They are continuing to understand that the little things matter most against the best teams. I’d just like everyone to have a little more confidence.”