The Fox Chapel boys soccer program will face plenty of obstacles, but coach Erik Ingram believes this year’s team is equipped to handle them.
Fox Chapel suffered a difficult loss in Section 3-4A play Oct. 1, losing 5-1 to Seneca Valley.
"We’ll be fine,” Ingram said. "We scored first (against Seneca Valey) fairly early in the game. We knew how they were going to come back. We had some guys coming back from injuries, and things broke down a couple of times.”
Fox Chapel, which won its first four section matches and is in good position to make the WPIAL playoffs, has showcased its ability to win in various scenarios all season. In late September, the Foxes (7-3-1, 5-2) showed their toughness against Pine-Richland.
The Rams scored first, but Fox Chapel rallied for a 4-2 victory. Ingram said Fox Chapel’s mental toughness comes from always having moving pieces in the lineup.
"We haven’t had a game yet where our projected starters have all been able to play,” Ingram said. "Our mental toughness showed itself in games like our first game against Seneca Valley. During the last 15 minutes, we could weather the storm and keep attacking.”
Aidan Stein leads Fox Chapel in goals so far this season with six. Kellan Bleier, Carson Krushansky and Milo Chiu also have scored multiple goals for the Foxes.
"We’re in the mix every year,” Ingram said. "This year, we’ve got a little bit more mental toughness than anything we had in the past. We are getting results because of it. I don’t know if we are doing anything different.”’
Fox Chapel would like to utilize that grit as the playoffs approach. The Foxes have shown the ability to lock down their opponents, producing five shoutouts so far this season. They’ve also had five matches this season where they scored three or more goals.
The Foxes are in second place but must continue to play well to prevent Seneca Valley, which started section play slowly, from leapfrogging them.
"It’s tough,” Ingram said. "Even the teams that aren’t winning a lot of games in our section aren’t easy to play against. You have to work hard every night.”
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