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FINAL: WPIAL Boys Class 4A Championship Game – Fox Chapel 1, Plum 0

2024 Fox Chapel Foxes Boys Soccer: WPIAL Class 4A Champions
Photo courtesy Plum School District / Athletics
WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A Championship Match

FINAL: Fox Chapel 1, Plum o

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MATCH DAY UPDATES

Fox Chapel Boys Soccer team won its first WPIAL Title since 1995 by surviving a hard-fought, intense battle with No. 1 seed Plum, 1-0, at Highmark Stadium on Friday night.

While the Foxes controlled possession, both sides traded chances, with the Foxes on the front foot for most of the first half, then Plum tilted the match during the opening 10-plus minutes of the second half.

Fox Chapel’s persistence, ability on the ball and strong play on the width put Plum on its heels in a match that remained scoreless until midfielder Carson Krushansky finally found an opening while straddling the 18 yard box on a horizontal push — then pulled the trigger with a turf burning effort from the edge of the box that found its way inside the right post.

Kushansky spoke with PSN’s Matt Popchock after the match.

Below are additional match updates/highlights.  Look for a more detailed match report from Matt Popchock to follow.

Final Match Stats: 

Image

Full Carson Krushansky Interview on PSN YouTube

 

Updated Boys Class 4A Bracket 

Head Coaches:

Plum: Raf Kolankowski

Fox Chapel: Erik Ingram

Rosters

Plum

Fox Chapel

History

This is the first Finals appearance for Fox Chapel since 2015 and for Plum since 2005.  This will be Fox Chapel’s 16th overall appearance in a District Final while it’s Plum’s only Second-ever appearance in the District final.

WPIAL Championships won:

  • Fox Chapel – 1995, 1991, 1987, 1967, 1964
  • Plum – 2005

History WPIAL Boys 4A Champions

  • 2023 – Norwin
  • 2022 – Pine-Richland
  • 2021 – Seneca Valley
  • 2020 – Seneca Valley
  • 2019 – Canon-McMillan

Match Preview

Plum and Fox Chapel each exorcised their recent semifinal round demons by putting together impressive, gritty victories in a doubleheader played at Gateway High School on Tuesday night.

The Boys Class 4A Finalists, coached by two veteran coaches who know each other all too well, Raf Kolankowski and Erik Ingram, will face off in a match of longtime rival schools who have not been in the same section in a number of years, will each be trying to win an elusive district title for their boys soccer programs at Highmark Stadium on Friday night (8 p.m. kickoff).

“It’s a numbers game,” Kolankowski said.

“You come close so many times, and, eventually, you’ll come through. Hopefully, we can have a similar performance to what we had (Tuesday) on Friday.”

The feeling is mutual on both sides.

“Getting to this point means a lot because of how hard our section is and then beating a good team like Peters Township (in the semifinals),” Ingram said.

“We knew (the semifinal) was going to be a war because of how many times (Peters Township) has been here. Playing teams like Seneca Valley and North Allegheny in section and then playing teams like Upper St. Clair and Peters Township in the playoffs makes this very special.”

We know this much — as the tournament goes forward in Class 4A — the goals are always seem harder to come by, so many matches may come down to a key play here or there.

Near season’s end, while both teams were getting ready for the playoffs, on October 12, they did face each other in a non-section match, with Plum prevailing, 3-1, to keep its unbeaten season intact.

It’s probably fair to say that neither side pulled out all stops in that match, but they’ll be looking to do so on Friday night.

In its semifinal match on Monday, Plum fell behind early, but pushed forward to get two goals in beating North Allegheny, 2-1.

In finding moments that make a difference in a tight match, Plum came through when Kent Holmes long range skipper gave the Mustangs the lead, then Plum pulled ahead three minutes into the second half, with Christian Alter deflecting a header off his chest and into the net.

Same for Fox Chapel — who kept coming in waves against No. 2 Peters in the semifinal, taking their chances with shots from distance and around the edge of the box.

Eventually, it paid off, with senior Aidan Stein getting rewarded after a few near hits, finally getting it done at 69’ with a skipping kick that beat PT’s keeper Markus Bizyak to the left corner for the game-winner.

No. 1 Plum were pushed to extra time by Canon-McMillan in a thriller in the quarterfinals, but pulled out 3-2 win as Fedgi Aristyl hit the game-winner in a crowded box at the near post following a corner kick in the 95th minute.

In recent years Fox Chapel, has moved into the semifinal round, only to get turned away.

The Foxes’ last Finals appearance came in 2015. That was a thrilling match, as the Foxes held a 1-0 lead with under two minutes remaining in the game, but Canon-McMillan rallied for a pair of goals, one late in regulation, then another in extra time to crush Ingram’s squad’s chances to lift the WPIAL trophy.

This Fox Chapel group though, has plenty of confidence, as they came into the tournament having won its last three Section matches, bouncing back from a 5-1 loss in a rematch with Seneca Valley, then opened the tournament by taking control to surge by Upper St Clair for a 3-1 win last Saturday.

Head Coach Erik Ingram’s squad has been at its best when controlling tempo and possession, which they did so well in the playoff win along with wins against co-champion North Allegheny to get the edge in earning the No. 3 seed.

There are plenty of skilled players on both sides.  Plum’s Garrett Chandler and Gage Adinolfi earned All-WPIAL honors, while Fox Chapel’s Milo Chiu, Kellan Bleier, Carson Krushansky and Stein were recognized with All-WPIAL honors too.

Both coaches who prefer to see their teams play through the middle and connect passes, as could also be a chess match between two sides looking to play through the lines and take what gives on the wider Highmark Stadium pitch.

Recent PSN Boys Class 4A Coverage

WPIAL Boys Class 4A Soccer: Plum, Fox Chapel exorcise recent playoff demons to reach Final

All-WPIAL Boys Soccer Selections (2024)

Final Scoreboard: WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A Quarterfinal Round

WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A First Round: North Hills stuns defending champs Norwin in dramatic finish

Kids on the Pitch Podcast: WPIAL Soccer Playoff Brackets are out (Part I w/ Moon’s Tyler Blake and Plum’s Raf Kolankowski)

WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A Results

 Semifinal Round

FINAL:  Plum 2, North Allegheny 1

FINAL: Fox Chapel 1, Peters Township 0

Quarterfinal Round

Saturday, October 26

FINAL:  Plum 3, Canon-McMillan 2 – Extra Time/2  (Replay)

FINAL Peters Township 2, Seneca Valley 1

FINAL:  Fox Chapel 3, Upper St Clair 1

FINAL:  North Allegheny 1, North Hills 0

First Round

Tuesday, October 22

Click on links below to each team to find roster (if applicable)

FINAL:  Canon-McMillan 6, Gateway 0

Leading the way for the Big Macs was Adam Kuchera with a hat trick

FINAL:  North Allegheny 2, Central Catholic 1

Nick Denysenko and Nathan Katari bookended goals for the No. 4 seed Tigers in their quest to return to the WPIAL Final.

FINAL:  North Hills 3, Norwin 2

The biggest upset of the night came when No. 12 seed North Hills stunned No. 5 Norwin, Class 4A’s defending champs in dramatic fashion.  Senior midfielder Zach Fritz’s shot attempt toward the goal box resulted in a clearance effort by Norwin, but the ball was deflected off another Norwin player and past the goal line.  It was the first playoff match for North Hills since 2016

FINAL:  Upper St. Clair  3, Pine-Richland 1

Shawn Khurana scored a pair of first-half goals to lead the way for No. 6 Upper St. Clair.

FINAL: Seneca Valley 6, Mt. Lebanon 0

Tyler Prex’s brace led a balanced and deep Raiders’ attack which is starting to click at the right time. 

WPIAL Boys Class 4A Leading Scorers

Adam Kuchera, Canon-McMillan — 21

Daniel Maddock, Norwin — 20

Tyler Prex, Seneca Valley — 17

Alexander Parise, Peters Township — 15

Dylan Shallenberger, Connellsville — 15

Finn Kichi, Pine-Richland — 14

Ben Murtough, Upper St. Clair — 13

Aiden Stein, Fox Chapel — 12

Jeven Kelly, Peters Township — 11

Brett Martin, Peters Township — 11

Gage Adinolfi, Plum — 10

Owen Eastgate, Seneca Valley — 10

 

Boys Class  4A Rosters

Section I Section II Section III
Central Catholic Canon-McMillan Butler
Gateway Connellsville Fox Chapel
Hempfield Area Mt. Lebanon North Allegheny
Norwin Peters Township North Hills
Penn Hills Upper St. Clair Pine-Richland
Plum Woodland Hills Seneca Valley

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