No. 5 Seneca Valley girls soccer’s season ends in WPIAL quarterfinals at hands of Fox Chapel
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Seneca Valley’s Cece Wildrick (18) and Addison Kvasager (24) try to score against Fox Chapel in a WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal game Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Fox Chapel High School. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Leah D’Amico (26) tries to head the ball over Fox Chapel’s Elise Dressman (7) in a WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal game Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Fox Chapel High School. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Alexis Koliscak (0) makes a save against Fox Chapel in a WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal game Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Fox Chapel High School. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Sophia Lawryk shows her disappoint after a Fox Chapel’s game-winning goal in a WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal game Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Fox Chapel High School. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
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Seneca Valley’s Anna Iaquinta, right, shows her disappointment as she gets hugged by a teammate after losing 3-1 to Fox Chapel in a WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal game Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Fox Chapel High School. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle
O’HARA TWP, Allegheny County — Dani DeFanti crouched down and put her face in her hands at the final whistle of Seneca Valley’s 3-1 WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer quarterfinal playoff loss at Fox Chapel.
A group of her teammates embraced her for a few moments before they were all called over to go through the postgame handshake line with the No. 4 Foxes (12-1-2), who advanced to play No. 1 Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals Monday.
Despite her disappointment, the senior defender will look back on the defeat knowing her and her teammates did all they could.
“Our vibe went down, and I kept trying to push us up,” DeFanti said. “Because even if we lost, I still wanted to (go out) with a passion and a feeling that we still played our hardest, which I do think we did. We pushed. It was probably one of our best games of the season.
“I’m so glad that we ended on, even though it was a bad note, still a good note in my mind.”
Seneca Valley head coach Mark Perry looked at things with a broad perspective, happy with how his side fought despite a tough circumstance.
“I thought we played good tonight,” Perry said. “I just thought they had a little bit more. Some of the bounces went their way, and they finished their chances. And when we had our chances, we didn’t (finish).”
Earlier in the day, the No. 5 Raiders (12-3-3) found out senior goalkeeper Sydney Postler couldn’t go, thrusting in junior Lexi Koliscak, who Perry felt did a “very, very good job, for a girl that’s (making) her first start that’s been playing JV all year,” he said. “We didn’t lose this game because of her goalkeeping, because we were right in this game.”
“She kept fighting,” DeFanti said. “This gave her more confidence for her next year, and I think she’s gonna have a great senior year.”
Fox Chapel got on the scoreboard early — just before two minutes had passed — after Ava Henderson’s shot resulted in a Seneca Valley own goal. Two minutes later, Seneca Valley senior defender Addison Cravotta leveled things.
Foxes freshman forward Eloise Bachman banged in a goal on a rebound late in the 37th minute, pushing her side back ahead before halftime. Senior forward Emily McKee zipped another in to the bottom left corner late in the 59th minute, lifting the hosts to a 3-1 advantage the Raiders couldn’t overcome.
“The last few years, we’ve been spoiled,” Perry said. “Getting to the (WPIAL) finals, and then getting far in the state playoffs — and it’s very hard in 4A to do that. Not many programs have done what we’ve done the last five years. … We were in the mix this year.”
