IN Fox Chapel Area Winter 2016 | Page 22

FALL ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS

Fox Chapel Area High School sponsors 10 fall interscholastic sports teams each year , and this season they played a total of 99 section games . Of those competitions , Foxes ’ teams had 77 wins . Overall , two teams had perfect regular season records , four teams won their section championships or were co-champions , and field hockey clinched the WPIAL

gold medal for the second consecutive year . Additionally , the girls ’ cross country team set a program milestone when they advanced to the PIAA championships for the first time in school history . Individually , Fox Chapel Area also was well represented at the WPIAL and PIAA championships , with the girls ’ tennis doubles team winning the state title .

FIELD HOCKEY DEFENDS WPIAL TITLE ox Chapel Area FOX CHAPEL AREA SCHOOL NEWS

The Foxes ’ field hockey team followed in the footsteps of last year ’ s undefeated squad and finished the regular season with a perfect section record of 12-0 . It was the 11 th time the program had produced a section champion , six of which have come under the leadership of Coach Jen McCrady . Even better , the girls won their second consecutive WPIAL Class AAA championship – their third in four years – and advanced to the PIAA playoffs .

Staying atop the leader board this season wasn ’ t as easy as the players might have expected , even with three Division I-recruits leading the way – senior Meg McCrady who will play lacrosse at Georgetown University , junior Abby Pitcairn who committed to the University of North Carolina , and Michigan State recruit junior Paige Ryan .

All year , the team counted on top scorers and all-state players Abby and Paige , and the team ’ s other scoring forwards Megan Botos , a senior , and junior Katie McIlroy , along with playmaking midfielders Meg McCrady and junior Mia Jamiolkowski . A superb defense featured juniors Sarah Fownes and Grace Knepshield , sophomores Marissa Hardiman and Rebecca Klaas , and freshman Isabella Lagazzi . Goalkeeper Marissa allowed only two goals in section play .

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Of course , winning the WPIAL championship is Coach McCrady ’ s proudest moment of the season . However , it ’ s not any of the team ’ s other wins that Coach McCrady recalls as her second proudest moment this season . It actually occurred in an overtime loss at a tournament in Ohio . “ We were battling fatigue in a second consecutive game that day , were missing some key players , and had some frustration ,” she recalls . “ To watch them rally together and play one of their best games as a team was really awesome .”

Now in her seventh season , Coach McCrady admits that while the team had an unblemished section record and went 16-5 overall , there still was some adversity along the way that had to be overcome .

“ We faced some battles this year that I felt were extremely important for us to grow as a team ,” says Coach McCrady . “ I do believe adversity is key in terms of growth , and is a reminder that you have to earn every victory .”

Coach McCrady is confident about the shape of her team and what comes next . “ We will come back next year with a powerful , fully-loaded team and will have the same goals as always – win the section and WPIAL tournaments and go deeper into the PIAA championship games ,” says the coach who , not too long ago , was named a Hines Ward positive coach of the year .