The Fox Chapel Area girls lacrosse team is coming off a solid season that included a 14-5 record, an 8-1 mark in WPIAL Class 3A Section 2 and a berth in the WPIAL playoffs, advancing to the quarterfinal round.
Coach Kellee Cribby feels the 2025 version of the Foxes might have the potential to reach even greater heights.
“I have a great group of seniors returning, so I’m excited to have them returning as leaders,” the coach said. “I also have a really strong group of juniors. Having a great senior and junior class is always helpful because they have the experience and have spent some time playing at this level. They’re also great teammates, so they’re helpful for the underclassmen to learn from and lean on. That’s stuff you can’t really coach, so it’s nice to see that happening in the first week and a half.”
A strong nucleus does return for coach Cribby, but there are a couple of holes to fill.
Two-time All-American Sydney Schutzman has graduated and is now playing club lacrosse at the University of Colorado Boulder. One of the program’s all-time leading scorers, Sydney amassed more than 200 goals in her storied career at Fox Chapel Area.
“We’ll miss her leadership, we’ll miss her play, and her level of intensity on the field,” coach Cribby said. “The girls will have to step up and fill (those roles).”
But there are some talented girls ready to step in, such as senior midfielder Meg Delaney.
“She’s great on both sides of the ball,” coach Cribby said. “We lost to Shady Side Academy in the playoffs in which she had this amazing game. So, I’m excited for her to build on all of the work she did last year and really step into a leadership role this year. I’m excited for her to step into her own potential.”
Another key senior will be attacker Kennedy Murton, who was a first-team all-section selection in 2024.
“She’s another fantastic player,” coach Cribby said. “She really stands out as an excellent teammate. She’s great at encouraging the underclassmen and being there for them. She also is such a threat on the field. I feel like she leads by example, but also is very generous with her time with the underclassmen.”
The third four-year starter who is expected to contribute is senior attacker Annie Mohn.
Along with Meg, coach Cribby said the Foxes boast a strong stable of midfielders, including juniors Zehra Ozkaya and Hope Pekarcik. Zehra was second-team all-section in 2024.
“They’ve put a ton of work into the offseason and are ready to step up,” coach Cribby said.
Junior attackers returning to the lineup are Caroline Grimsley and Caroline Leland, each of whom was first-team all-section in 2024.
“We’ll be relying on them quite a bit on the attacking side of the field,” coach Cribby said.
Another graduate that will need to be replaced is goalkeeper Tess Petrucelli.
As coach Cribby enters her sixth season as coach, she continues to see the program progress. That is evident in the fact that there are 39 girls in the program this year.
“Every year is different because the dynamic and the team cohesion are a little bit different,” she said. “What’s great about this year is there is a high level of intensity and expectation that comes from all of the girls. They all have really high standards for how the season is going to go. They are operating in the practices and the scrimmages at that level. When the upperclassmen are working at that level, that helps the underclassmen rise to it. There’s a lot of good things across the board.”
That can bode well for the upcoming season as coach Cribby hopes to see the team move forward even more this year.