Before his foray into the high school soccer scene in 2006 Erik Ingram heard words of caution from his friends who were also coaching soccer in the WPIAL.

Ingram was leaving the collegiate coaching ranks to take over the Fox Chapel boys' team. It was a program that had won six WPIAL titles, including two in the 1990s but, according to his peers, the program was not producing elite players as it had in the past.

Ingram recalled, "They were saying 'You don't know what you are walking into. You are not walking into the traditional Fox Chapel program. They don't have the superstars anymore.'"

Now preparing to enter his fifth season as head coach at Fox Chapel, Ingram has dispelled some of those opinions. The Foxes have not been able to add to their WPIAL title haul under Ingram, but with two section titles in four years, one WPIAL title game appearance and consecutive 18-win seasons entering this year, Fox Chapel appears to be firmly entrenched in the upper echelon of Class AAA boys' soccer.

"I think that tradition has carried on," Ingram said.

In addition to results another good program indicator is where Fox Chapel finds itself, after losing eight senior starters, including two all-state forwards, still in the hunt.

"We are used to it," Ingram said of having to replace more than 70-percent of its starting lineup from last fall.

The Fox Chapel program is at the point where those losses to graduation are not cause for lowered expectations.

After a few practices and a scrimmage, a 3-1 win against Kiski Area, those expectations increased. Before the preseason Ingram had eight starters and some question marks. Now he has a starting 11 and a bench he is comfortable with.

"These players are different than they were a year ago and I mean that in a very positive way," he said.

Ingram expects to go five or six players deep off the bench.

"It is not necessarily as deep as we have been in the past few years but we still do have a bench and that is a luxury," Ingram said.

After all-section forwards Thad Madzelonka, Kevin McKamish and Kory Silberg graduated, senior forward/midfielder Noah Rosen is the leading returning scorer. Madzelonka and McKamish combined to score 43 regular-season goals a year ago. Rosen was third on the team with 14 goals.

The losses were not just limited to the goal scorers. The Fox Chapel defense also lost three starting defenders, including all-section player Stuart McMurran. Goalkeeper Mike Lucas, a senior captain and four-year starter, brings plenty of stability to the backline.

Along with Lucas and Rosen, senior midfielder Brendan Duquette is the third returning starter.

Returning letter-winners, senior Forrest Rosenblum, Austin Armor and James Sullivan will start on defense.

Junior midfielders Evan Ingram and Sam Bradley, and senior forward Andrea Conte all lettered last season and are expected to start. Conte is one of the top goal scorers on the team.

"We have the firepower. Most of these guys were our first guys off the bench," Lucas said. "They would have started for a lot of teams."

Last season Fox Chapel finished the regular season unbeaten (17-0-1) but after a tough draw, fell to Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL quarterfinals.

Fox Chapel hosts a season-opening tournament where it will face City League opponents Schenley and Allderdice on Saturday. The first game against Schenley is scheduled for 9 a.m. with the second set for 2 p.m.

"I don't know if we have the same firepower we have had in the past, but these guys have a very, very strong understanding of how the game is supposed to be played," Ingram said.

"We plan on being in the playoffs and making a run."

Some may have doubted those goals four years ago but not anymore.

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