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Peters Township's Julianne Femiani scored with a minute left in overtime to give the Indians a 1-0 win over Fox Chapel in the WPIAL Class AAA girls field hockey championship game on Monday night at James Burke Stadium in O'Hara.

"They kept pounding and pounding, and I knew eventually they were going put it in," Peters Township coach Kristin Slemmer said. "It just took collaboration from the whole team."

Fox Chapel goaltender Madison Wagner made 13 saves in the hard-fought contest.

"It was a very even game," Fox Chapel coach Jen McCrady said. "We knew they play a very similar style to what we do. They just used the fast break a little more to their advantage than we did, and we got caught playing chase."

Fox Chapel had a number of scoring opportunities in the first half, especially after Peters Township lost a player to a yellow card for the final 12 minutes.

"We couldn't finish," McCrady said. "The best thing about our game is the right side. We use the right side all the time, but for some reason today we kept wanting to go left. And we weren't playing our game play throughout the first half."

Peters Township held strong, and the game remained scoreless at the half. In the second half, Fox Chapel struggled to get quality chances. Wagner played well in the loss.

"She's awesome," McCrady said. "I think anybody who was here knows how unbelievable she is. It's heartbreaking for her because she was just unbelievable."

The chances increased substantially in the overtime, as the teams traded end-to-end rushes while playing 7-on-7.

Fox Chapel's Laura Faust missed a shot to the right side of net, which was followed by a similar chance by Peters Township's Alison Crawford at the other end of the field.

From that point Peters Township continued to pepper Wagner with shots until Femiani's game-winning goal.

"I think pushing through when they wanted to quit was the difference," Slemmer said. "There were signs they were dog tired, and they just kept going, and that's all it takes. They (Fox Chapel) are a tough competitor and gave us a great challenge."

Despite the loss, McCrady expressed pride in her players.

"At the beginning of the season, I don't think anybody believed they would be here," McCrady said. "They proved to themselves that they deserved to be here, and that was evident to anybody watching the game."

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