Fox Chapel ends the hockey reign of eight-time defending WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford

By means of:

Wednesday October 23, 2024 | 9:39 PM

With four minutes left in a tense tie, Fox Chapel sophomore forward Emma Srodes brought the ball through the Penn-Trafford zone on a turnover and fired a shot from 10 yards.

“We practiced that shot a lot in practice, the shot when I bring the ball to the far left post,” Srodes said. “I'm so happy that all that practice paid off and the shot was successful.”

Srodes' shot appeared to be headed for a deflection from teammate Melanie Pietz, but she let it go and the ball trickled past Warrior goalkeeper Leah Vislosky.

“It's not easy to score a goal in the last few minutes to avoid overtime, but they worked hard to make it happen,” Fox Chapel coach Kellee Cribby said.

Fox Chapel beat Penn-Trafford 2-1 on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 2A hockey playoffs. The result ended Penn-Trafford's streak of eight consecutive WPIAL championships.

“They are super competitive and we have been battling each other all year, so it was fitting that we battled it out in the playoffs as well,” Cribby said. “Of course we are very happy with the victory.”

Fox Chapel and Penn-Trafford had their struggles this season. They faced each other three times in the Class 2A regular season and each team won a game by a score of 2-0. In the third match they played a 0-0 draw.

“Tonight was a very tough loss for our girls,” Penn-Trafford coach Cindy Dutt said. “We have lost our last two games against Fox Chapel in the last five minutes and we were in control of both games. It is a heavy loss.”

For most of the first half, the Warriors controlled the ball and created more chances, but just couldn't capitalize.

“They didn't do much in my opinion to slow down our offense in the first half,” Dutt said. “I felt like we could move the ball really well. They clumped together, so we had everything we wanted.”

Penn-Trafford's first real chance came four minutes into the second period when they were awarded a penalty corner.

The ball went to junior Elizabeth Welsh, who fired a rocket toward the net. The Warriors scored a couple more times on the ball but were stopped by Foxes goalkeeper Gina Fitzsimmons.

Fox Chapel was whistled for a penalty in the circle and Penn-Trafford was awarded a penalty. Welsh took the shot and shot low to the right and Fitzsimmons made a fine save on the left pad.

The match remained scoreless until Srodes hit a blow from the right front that was too hot for Vislosky.

“The passing was so good and I got the ball in the middle and I tried to make a corner,” Srodes said. “It felt so good when the shot went in.”

But Penn-Trafford's Welsh replied at right-back with a rising shot that went to the right of the top shelf from eight yards out.

As the third quarter ended, the Warriors were awarded another penalty corner. The ball came in to senior Rilie Moors, who covered two defenders and made a pass to the left for Welsh, who fired a roller toward the net. Fitzsimmons found it through traffic and kicked it away from the damage.

“We had three or four penalty corners and usually we get more in a match, but we just couldn't finish them,” Dutt said.

Freshman Brooke Bauer had a chance to give the Wariorrs the lead when she made a spinning shot three minutes into the fourth, but she was fouled out by Fitzsimmons, who made a great save, this time with her left toe.

“I knew it was going to be a battle, but the girls were very focused,” Cribby said. “Really prepared and I could tell they wanted it. I'm glad we made it.”

The Foxes will face the winner of Thursday night's game between top-seeded Peters Township and No. 4 Latrobe in the WPIAL championship game Nov. 2 at Washington & Jefferson.

“Peters is the No. 1 in that side and anything can happen in a play-off game,” Cribby said. “But I expect it to be really competitive and see a lot of good hockey, and I always tell the girls that this isn't given to them; they will have to earn it.”

Keywords: Fox Chapel, Penn-Trafford