Fox Chapel girls soccer out to defend section title

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, August 31, 2021 | 4:55 PM

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For the 18th time in program history, the Fox Chapel girls soccer team brought home a section championship in 2020, edging WPIAL power Norwin by two points for the Section 3-4A crown.

While a sizeable group of contributing seniors moved on — including All-WPIAL performers in goalkeeper Sammi Dunlap and forwards Britta Lagerquist and Lucy Ream — coach Peter Torres said he is encouraged by returning talent hoping to fend off all challenges as high school fall sports return to normal after last year’s covid uncertainties.

“This year will be somewhat of a transition because we lost a great group of seniors to graduation.” Torres said. “Luckily, we have the benefit of having players of all grades make their way either into the starting rotation or coming off the bench to contribute valuable minutes to the team.”

Returning starters include seniors Kaylee Uribe (midfield/forward) and Carlie Barnett (defense), junior Makayla Mulholland (midfield) and sophomores Sydney Schutzman (midfield) and Anna Troutman (defense).

Barnett returns after earning all-section honors last year.

Last year’s section title was the first for every returning player. The most recent section championship before last year was in 2017 when last year’s seniors were freshmen.

“I think we have a really good chance of keeping that (section) title,” Barnett said. “We have our two center backs, me and Anna Troutman, returning. We have our goalie who played in half of our games last years and who was really good. We have all of our center midfielders back, and honestly, all of our forwards and our two outside backs played a lot last year.

“It was tough to lose those players to graduation, but we have a lot back. If we continue to work hard in practices and keep focused, I think it will really pay off.”

Junior Molly McNaughton, Torres said, will get the start in goal and owns valuable experience splitting time with Dunlap last year.

Torres also feels the experience gained last year by seniors Lauren Rabbitt (forward), Anna Nury (defense) and Addie Piper (midfield/forward); junior Lilygrace Goodworth (forward); and sophomore Kate Friday (midfield/forward) will help the team maintain a high level of play in and out of section action.

“We expect a few ninth graders to push for playing time on varsity,” Torres said. “As the season progresses, we may see a few of them starting or getting quality minutes.”

Fox Chapel will be looking for offense after 23 of last year’s 32 goals came from Lagerquist, Ream and fellow grad Emma Wecht. Ream is playing in college at Division I Eastern Kentucky.

Mulholland fronted the team with seven assists.

Fox Chapel had its final dress rehearsal for the season Monday at Burrell. Barnett said the team took away a lot of positives from the scrimmage.

“I would say we were a lot more direct (with the ball) to our forwards, which is what we’ve been trying to work on. We had a lot of shots because of it,” she said. “We have three new forwards this year, and we are really excited to see what they can do. We also kept a lot of possession, which was very encouraging.”

Fox Chapel’s first section contest will be Sept. 18 — senior night — against Penn-Trafford at Fox Chapel Stadium.

The Foxes again will do battle with Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Allderdice, Hempfield and Latrobe in section play. Penn-Trafford and Latrobe joined Class 4A quarterfinalists Fox Chapel and Norwin in last year’s WPIAL playoffs.

“We were lucky to come into a new section last year and have success,” Torres said. “We know that also puts a huge target on our backs as we head into this season. Norwin, Penn Trafford, Latrobe and us will all be vying for the section title. We will have our work cut out for us in our section. It is a quality section with a history of good, quality teams.”

Fox Chapel opens its season against Hampton, last year’s Section 1-3A champion and a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinalist, at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

The Foxes then turn their attention to Butler on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the defending Section 1-4A champions and 2020 WPIAL runner-up.

“The team has always set high expectations for the season, but they know it will not be easy,” Torres said.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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