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Girls Lacrosse Embraces Season of Redemption

A Foxes lacrosse player cradles a ball while a defender and goalie guard the net.

Admittedly, the Fox Chapel Area girls lacrosse team’s 2025 season ended in disappointment with an upset loss to Norwin in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

However, coach Kellee Cribby, in her seventh season, said the loss is motivation for the upcoming campaign. 

“That was definitely a tough way to end our season,” she said. “We are still feeling the sting from that. The girls would definitely like to have that game back. Obviously, that’s not how sports work. I think the senior class is highly motivated by feeling that they didn’t reach their full potential last season, so they’re eager for redemption this time around.”

As preparations continue for the 2026 season, the girls appear to be ready to do just that.

“We’re looking good,” coach Cribby said. “We definitely graduated a lot of seniors last year, but we have a lot of seniors this year. So, we have a good amount of depth and a strong group of leaders in this senior class. I think we’re in good shape.” 

A Foxes lacrosse player in white dodges a red-clad defender on a turf field.

Some of that leadership will come from a quartet of seniors – attackers Caroline Grimsley and Caroline Leland, the team’s two top scorers in 2025: midfielder Zehra Ozkaya, an Academic All-American in 2025, and defender Hope Pekarcik.

Sophomore Brooke Leone also will be counted on for some big contributions this season.

 “I think she’ll be a huge contributor for us,” coach Cribby said. “She’s great on the draw. She has an amazing lacrosse IQ. She’s going to be filling some big shoes from the midfield position, and she’s actually ready to do it.” 

Handling the goalkeeping chores will be freshman Lydia DeMotte. 

“She’s great,” coach Cribby said. “She’s got great skills, a great attitude. She’s just another well-rounded player. She definitely has earned her spot. She has shown ninth-grade poise. She shows a great disposition on the field and is not easily rattled. She knows what’s ahead of her, and she’s ready for it.”    

It’s actually going to be quite a busy spring for Lydia, as she also participates in the throwing events for the Fox Chapel Area track team. 

“If (an athlete) is able to do both, I encourage it,” coach Cribby said. “I think it’s great for them to be so well-rounded.” 

The Foxes will play in WPIAL Class 3A Section 2 this season, which sports a fair number of good teams, but that’s the kind of competition coach Cribby likes.

“I love that we play super competitive teams,” she said. “We definitely have some good competition in the WPIAL. We’re preparing for that.”

And the Foxes are prepared for a season of redemption. They just need to be aware of a few things to make that happen.

“We just have to stay disciplined all over the place,” coach Cribby said. “Throughout the season, in the spring, there’s always a lot of distractions, a lot of things going on, so we have to make sure that we are really focused on what we’re doing when we’re on the lacrosse field. Also, we need to stay disciplined throughout the duration of the game to make sure we control the pace and we control the pressure. That’s really our focus this year to make sure we’re managing all of that well.”