Senior High School, 3-1, in the quarterfinals. The Foxes’ squad ended the year with a 17-3 record and was undefeated in its section.
What Rocco says he will most remember about this year’ s team is their bond. He shares,“ This year is the closest I have ever felt to my teammates. We have become so close throughout this season, and it translated onto the field.”
In addition to his all-state and All-East Region awards, Rocco received all-WPIAL honors and was named the WPIAL Class 4A Section 3 Player of the Year by the Big 56. Senior Sean Regan, and juniors Rocco Poli and Sharif Zureikat also received all- WPIAL status. For the ninth time, coach Ingram was recognized as the WPIAL Class 4A Section 3 Coach of the Year.
Girls Soccer: Foxes Capture Crown in Double-Overtime Thriller
Proving it doesn’ t matter where you start, but where you finish, the Foxes girls soccer team completed its season with a storybook ending, claiming the 2025 WPIAL Class 3A championship with a hard-fought win over South Fayette, 1-0.
To get there, coach Carlo Prati had to replace six four-year starters and spent weeks experimenting with different lineup combinations. But the players persevered, things began to click, and from that point on, they couldn’ t be stopped. The Foxes won the Section 1 title, earned the top seed in Class 3A, advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals, and finished with an impressive 20-2-1 record.
Senior captain Cassie Classen recalls those early weeks saying,“ We were a little anxious going into the season because we were
so unsure who and how we would fill those positions,” she says.“ As the season progressed, I think we felt more and more like a team, and everyone felt so confident and comfortable in their positions. We knew we would make it far as a team.”
Months before the postseason, coach Prati began preparing the team for the intense games ahead. From the beginning of the season, he had them competing against some of the strongest teams a class up in 4A, including Peters Township – the 2024 4A WPIAL champions, whom the Foxes defeated earlier this season – as well as Seneca Valley, Norwin, and North Allegheny, the 2025 title holder. They won every game but one, and that game was played in the season’ s infancy, when the group was still adjusting to a new lineup.
That harmony helped advance the Foxes’ postseason with three WPIAL playoff wins: Laurel Highlands, 7-0, when junior Emily McKee contributed five goals; Plum in the semifinals, 2-1; and then South Fayette for the title. In their first round of the PIAA tournament, the Foxes defeated Harbor Creek, 2-0, but then fell to DuBois, 3-1, in a quarterfinal upset.
Winning the WPIAL championship wasn’ t easy. Half the team had no playoff experience, and the game was played in relentless, pelting rain. With no score at the end of regulation play, the competition spilled over into double overtime. Only minutes before the battle would have gone to penalty kicks, senior forward Lily McLaughlin booted in the winning goal. It was the third title in program history. Last season, the Foxes were the runner-up to South Fayette.
“ The playoffs are always tough because no matter how good your team is, one bad game can end it all. But their commitment to what we wanted to create has taken this program to another level,” says coach Prati.
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