Sam Troutman didn’t want to not be part of the family tradition. Fox Chapel’s boys lacrosse program beat Shady Side Academy this season for the first time in years. It was an important win for the Foxes, who won their first section title in program history.
For Troutman, it also was important because he didn’t want to be the first one in his family to not beat the Bulldogs before he graduated.
While the WPIAL didn’t sponsor lacrosse championships until 2009, the Foxes’ club program dates back to the early 1990s.
“My dad, my cousins and my sister all had wins over Shady Side Academy,” Troutman said. “I didn’t want to be the only one that didn’t.”
The Foxes, who were seeded second for the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, fell short of punching their first ticket to the PIAA playoffs in program history. Fox Chapel was tripped up by Shady Side Academy in the semifinals, and the Bulldogs went on to win their first crown since 2022.
In the third-place match, the Foxes lost to top-seeded Mt. Lebanon, who were upset in the semifinals by Pine-Richland.
Fox Chapel’s defense had a few bad stretches that doomed them in a 14-12 loss to the Blue Devils.
Troutman, who will play lacrosse at John Carroll next season, was proud of what the Foxes accomplished.
“Griffin McCaffrey was on fire and scored a bunch of goals,” Troutman said. “We weren’t as good as we could have been defensively.”
All-section picks
The Fox Chapel baseball team had three players picked for the first time for all-section honors. Outfielder Tristan Blum, pitcher Blake Krushinski and catcher Elias George all earned the honor.
Jillian Haigh earned the same recognition on the softball team.
DiGioia, Srodes earn honors
Atia DiGioia and Emma Srodes were recipients of the Northern Area Athletic Directors Tri-Athlete awards. The Fox Chapel duo were chosen to celebrate their excellence in academics, extracurricular activities and community service.