WPIAL Boys Soccer Class 4A Final: Fox Chapel outduels Seneca Valley in penalty kicks to win back-to-back titles

WPIAL Boys Class 4A Final

FINAL: Fox Chapel 0, Seneca Valley 0

(Foxes win PK shootout, 4-2)

PSN Coverage Team — Ed Thompson, Photography; Mike Powers, Post Match Interviews

Instant Match Summary

Believe it or not, Fox Chapel and Seneca Valley combined for eight goals in two regular season games.

When battling in the WPIAL Championship game on Friday night, things tightened up considerably, as they completed 110 minutes of play without a goal in the run of play.

The fate of the Class 4A title came down to penalties — which the Foxes would win, 4-2.

Seneca Valley owned more possession and brought more pressure from the late first half on, but Fox Chapel’s goalkeeper Brady Matthews was on top of his game but had stellar group in front of him.

In the three matches leading up to this one, Fox Chapel did not surrender a single goal.

The match went to penalties, with Matthews coming up with a key save, stopping the very first shot he saw.

Eventually and quite fittingly, the final kick to secure the win, it was Sean Regan, a center midfielder who has filled in along the vaunted backline due to injuries.

Post Match Interviews

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Match Updates:

FINAL — Fox Chapel wins 4-2 in PK shootout.

Sean Regan converts FC’s fifth PK — clinching the Foxes second consecutive WPIAL Class 4A title

END OF EXTRA TIME — Two 15-minute periods of extra time were not enough to settle it.  This one’s going to PK’s.

END OF REGULATION — 0-0

Shots: Fox Chapel 9, Seneca Valley 7.

HALF — 0-0

SV had a 4-3 shot advantage in the first half and led 3-2 on corner kicks.

20′ — 0-0 so far with 20 minutes to go in the first half between SV and Fox Chapel

Match Preview

Rosters:  Fox Chapel | Seneca Valley

Coming off winning the school’s first boys soccer District title in 30 years, Fox Chapel Boys Soccer Head Coach Erik Ingram felt that his team had the ingredients for another deep run as they’ve only lost twice this season — bookending the campaign with a season opener loss at Canon-McMillan, then season-ending setback in a mostly meaningless 90-minute exercise against Class 3A finalist West Allegheny.

Otherwise, against a very strong section, the Foxes went 10-0-0.

That included two wins against the team that had been its nemesis over the years — Seneca Valley.

But those wins were anything but easy.  The Foxes outdueled the Raiders both times, 2-1, that included a golden goal in extra time, then a back-and-forth, 3-2 contest.

When these two sides get together — it offers a contrast of styles — as Fox Chapel are very strong on the ball and will use all the space on the pitch to break down its opponents, while Seneca Valley always look to get forward quickly and come in waves.

Fox Chapel’s returning players have kept a high standard and level of play.

In the playoffs — entering in the quarterfinal round, the Foxes have continued to find ways to win.  Against Plum, they controlled play thorughout, with Nick Squeglia proving to be a dangerous force up top, scoring twice, while Jake Williams scored the other.  In the quarterfinal round, the Foxes were tested by another section rival, Pine-Richland, who did their best to slow the Foxes down, but in the end, the defending champs came away with a 1-0 win.

“We have a lot of talent. Secondly, people were focused on some of the players we lost, but we have a lot of players who are interested in writing their own chapters,” Ingram said.

Rocco DiDomenico, Sean Regan and Squeglia are the attacking threats for the Foxes, who boast a balanced scoring output, with DiDomenico leading the way with 10 goals during the regular season

In PSN’s Coaches Corner, one coach pointed out about Squeglia, FC’s target forward is “just a beast up front”.

In a classification where scoring is hard to come by — Seneca Valley’s Owen Eastgate ran up his total in his senior campaign’s regular season to 17 — and was described by Westmoreland Sports Network’s Mike Powers on Kids on the Pitch Podcast as ‘an absolute sniper’.   Meanwhile — keeping up with his family tradition of strong players that have come through the program — Jacob Prex has been a key playmaker for the Raiders — with 15 assists.

Seneca Valley were featured in PSN’s early season coverage at JRK Memorial Classic, when they defeated Moon and Philadelphia’s La Salle impressively at the start of the season — where they’ve built the foundation to be battle-ready for October.

JRK Memorial Classic: Seneca Valley builds confidence with wins vs La Salle and Moon

“We have a lot of guys to replace. We have a lot of youth, but they’ve stepped up and seniors we have, are showing leadership,” George Williams, Seneca Valley’s Head Coach told PSN.

A senior who also features for Beadling SC’s MLSNext Academy squad, Eastgate leads a talented group that’s getting better with each match.

The Raiders have won six straight since its second, back-and-forth, 3-2 loss to Fox Chapel, showing resilience, as they did that very first weekend of the season when they rallied for a pair of late goals to eclipse La Salle in a tight contest, then defeat last year’s Class 3A WPIAL champs, Moon.

But that was way back in the first week of the season.

The Raiders — as many of Williams’ teams do — get better as the season goes along.  In this case, when dipping into his roster almost every game uses a lot player rotation, helps with the rigors of playing a tight, intense schedule in late October and early November every year.

“They always have talent. It seems like they can reload every year,” Tom Sochacki, Canon-McMillan Head Coach, said.

To top it off, to have a goal-scoring talent like Eastgate can prove to be a difference-maker when the margins become thinner and someone needs to make a special play.

Add a dangerous, attacking front line of attackers from the Foxes, and it’s very likely that in the third match between the two teams — that the scoring won’t stop at eight goals that have already crossed the goal line when they get together.

While on one hand — when teams face each other for the third or fourth time in a given season, there’s a chance that defensively, they’ll start to catch up.

However, with this much attacking talent on the pitch — it seems like a safe bet that more goals will be scored.

Anyone interested in catching some fireworks at Highmark Stadium — there’s a good chance they’ll see some on Friday night.

John Krysinsky

John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of 'Miracle on the Mon' -- a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).